


Walk Away

by librariankiss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Family Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 00:16:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10320917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librariankiss/pseuds/librariankiss
Summary: Tony has never met Thor's brother, a musician who hasn't spoken to his adoptive family since he left to live on the road with his band. He knows Loki only through the stories that Thor tells. Then, unexpectedly, Thor asks Tony for a favor that might lead to Loki having to put a great deal of trust in Tony. And Tony has to wonder how he could possibly be the right man for the job.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been a long time coming, but hey! It's finally here! I almost can't believe it. I really hope you enjoy it because I love writing these AU fics.
> 
> The character death tag is precautionary. It takes place before the events of the fic, but it's a major theme throughout and I know that makes some people uncomfortable. Other than that I think you're warning is just, you know, FROSTIRON. But that's usually a given with my writing, so. 
> 
> I'll shut up now. Like I said, I hope you enjoy!

Tony’s got an armchair. He snagged it quickly upon arrival. He wasn’t the one who planned this reunion, and much as he’s glad to be here, he would rather have the distance that the chair provides than be pressed onto a couch with Clint, Natasha, and Steve, or sit on one of the spindly chairs like Thor and Bruce. Honestly, this coffee shop is such a hipster cliche; it’s no wonder that Bruce’s taste is what got them here. Plus, worst, Tony feels like he’s in an episode of _Friends_  —and he’s probably _Joey_.

It’s been too long since he was with these five people, since this group of six was together, none of them absent and none of their other friends present. Tony knows that they’re as ragtag as they come, but he feels as if this is a very particular group of friends. He doesn’t want to say that it’s “nice” to have them all together again because that word sucks. But it is. It’s nice. What caused them to drift apart in the first place, anyway?

The reunion is striking. It’s all small talk and normality. Steve’s telling them about a recent trip abroad. In search of his friend Bucky, it was, who hadn’t returned from his own journey when he was supposed to. So Steve had flown there himself to retrieve the man and … antics ensued, probably. Tony’s distracted from the details by Thor.

Thor would be the one Tony expecting to be telling stories, but they’ve got Steve. He only started talking to rescue Clint, who had begged someone else to come up with an anecdote when he realized that his story about the owl at his farm was boring even himself. Natasha and Bruce refused to take the spotlight - expected - and when asked if he had a story to share, Thor had merely shaken his head and gestured towards Steve.

So here’s Tony, eyeing Thor over his coffee cup. Thor’s attention is wholly on Steve, and perhaps very deliberately. Has he noticed that Tony is watching him? He surely knows that Tony’s the one so impolite that he won’t pretend that Thor’s behavior isn’t odd. But what’s Tony to do? Since they all sat down, Thor has barely said a word. Tony can’t let that go. Tony's obsessive like that.

Thor Odinson is a loud man. In voice, in movement, and in appearance. And he is just full of stories. He can pull a story out of anywhere and tell it with a unique theatrical gleam. Last time that Tony was with Thor (a while ago now, when both Steve and Thor had managed to make it to one of Tony’s parties) he had come out with several anecdotes that Tony had never heard before. Thor could spin an ol’ yarn about his childhood, his teens, a recent trip to the dentist. In Thor’s booming voice anything would sound exciting. And sure, Tony is pretty sure that most of the stories are grossly exaggerated, if not outright bullshit, but the tales are always there and Thor’s always so animated when he tells them.

But not today. Today, he’s sitting in Bruce’s awkward corner with a drink that he hasn’t touched, and watching Steve with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Speaking of weird coincidences,” says Clint suddenly. It’s a segue that makes no sense to Tony. “I was downtown and I saw a poster that caught my eye.” As he says it, he’s looking right at Thor.

It’s the first time that Thor’s moved in a while when he frowns and says, “And where was this?”

Clint’s brow furrows. “You know, by that uh … that bullshit nightclub that can’t decide if it’s grunge or post-modern.” He snaps his fingers. “Tesseract.”

Thor only nods. Fuck, but he’s acting weird.

Bruce speaks up. “Oh, I know that place. Did you know that Tony owns the building?”

Clint turns to Tony. “Really?”

“Stark Industries does,” says Tony with a shrug. “It’s an eco-friendly building. Hence the whole ‘the future is now’ thing it’s got going on. We own a lot of places like that. Means that I get to barge in whenever I feel like it, though. It’s this rule I’ve got. So that’s cool.”

Or it would be if every gig there wasn’t that weird off-grunge crap. Like, hipsters who are terrified of the sun. Bruce would love it—if he could handle the crowd. It makes Tony wanna have his eardrums removed, though.

“Huh. Well. Anyway.” Clint clears his throat. “This poster they had up was advertising some gig with this band I’ve never heard of, but they had this supporting act. And you know what? It was Leaf Isle.”

Tony wants to say that that’s a stupid name for a band. He doesn’t.

“Oh, shit.” This from Natasha, and it’s one of the first things she's said. She, like Bruce and Thor, has been very quiet since arriving.

Clint nods. “That’s the band that your brother’s in, isn’t it?”

“It is,” says Thor, voice flat.

“That’s what I mean about weird coincidences,” says Clint. “Struck me, is all.”

He doesn’t need to say anything else. He’s hinting at something, oh so subtly, but everyone surely has to know what it was.

None of them - except for Thor, of course - know Thor’s brother in person. They know him from Thor’s stories. There have been so many stories that Tony almost feels like he does know Loki Odinson—or Loki Laufeyson, as he has become.

Thor loves him to bits, clearly. It comes through whenever he speaks of him. But, despite this, Loki is an enigma of Thor’s storytelling habits. Tony’s heard plenty: the Odinson brothers and the stray dog, the school play incident, the time that Loki stole six hundred bucks from their dad and vanished for a month … but there are crucial details missing. The crucial details that fill the year or two, perhaps, before this group met Thor.

“Did you know they were playing around here?” Natasha asks. Tony can’t place the tone of her voice.

“I did. Heimdall heard about it, and he informed me.” Heimdall, a family friend, is another figure that Tony knows well by anecdote. “I did contact him about us being in the city at the same time, but he’d not speak to me.”

“Not at all?” asks Bruce.

Thor nods, falling back in his chair. “Not at all.”

“Shit,” says Tony, and when the group’s eyes fall on him, “Sorry, buddy.”

Buddy?

Tony knows that Loki’s in the sort of band that he would really struggle to care about, and he’s been on the road with them for a good few years now. He and Thor have barely spoken a word to one another since that started. Tony may not have been given the details, but he has managed to piece together enough pieces to work out that Loki, adopted, had a bad reaction to the discovery that he’s not biologically related to his family. He went to speak with Laufey, his biological father, and shortly after that fucked off and never came home.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Steve asks Thor.

“You think it a concern that he’ll not speak with me?” It’s not said as if it’s an answer to Steve’s question, but as if he didn’t hear Steve’s question at all.

“I mean. Maybe.” Steve looks around and, when no one interjects, says, “Why? Is something bothering you?”

A beat.

“I told you of...” Thor takes a breath. “I told you of my mother’s passing.”

There are nods. No words. Tony doesn’t know about the others, but he hasn’t brought up the subject since Thor first spoke to him about it. He never met Frigga. But Thor made it sound like Tony would have liked her.

“I think it … I think it because of pain,” Thor murmurs. “Mm. Forgive me.”

“It’s okay. You haven’t done anything wrong,” says Tony, surprising himself.

“It was I who had to tell him. It took him so long to speak. I thought, perhaps, that he had abandoned the phone.” Thor sighs. “He asked me if she suffered, and that was all.”

It’s like the room is dead. The noise of everyone else in the place is irrelevant. Tony’ feels like the group has been in a bubble since they got there, but that’s turned sour. Tony wants to say something. To comfort Thor. To change the subject. But—

“Oh, did I tell you guys about the hole Natasha knocked through the floor of the nursery?” Clint says.

Natasha slaps his arm. “Don’t you dare.”

Clint dares. And, by the end of it, Thor has laughed.

Clint’s story leads to one from Bruce, who does tend to build up confidence over time. Tony doesn’t want to speculate about how a loss of temper leads to a drinking game with one’s boss, but Bruce sure as hell doesn’t explain it too well. When Tony’s pressured he only says that he’s met the guy that Pepper is seeing. And that he likes him, but in reality, the jury’s still out on that one. At least the conversation is pleasant, is what the reunion was meant to be when it was planned. It’s all that Tony could ask for.

Eventually, however, they have to part ways. Natasha’s off to buy something. She takes Steve (who, apparently, became her new best gal pal sometime when Tony wasn’t looking) and a nervous Bruce with her.

Tony stays put. Clint, too, as he’s spent the last seventy-two straight hours with Natasha and she promises that she will shoot him if he tries to follow her. “With all the love in the world, Clint,” of course. Thor asks to remain at the coffee shop with Tony and Clint, and why would they refuse him that?

They even end up all snug together on the couch. Thor’s fault. Obviously.

“Well,” Tony says, “no offense, guys, but if I was gonna pick names for my ideal threesome then—”

Clint picks up the sugar - hipsters have diner-style sugar pourers now, apparently - and upends it over Tony’s leg.

“Thanks, Clint,” Tony chirps. When he brushes it off, he manages to get most of it into his empty cup. He’s pretty proud of himself for that, too. “If you guys don’t mind I’m just gonna get a—”

“Forgive me, friend, but I was wondering if I could discuss something with you.”

Thor’s words, promptly interrupting Tony for the second time, are so surprising that they stop Tony dead.

“Oh. Uh.” Tony flicks away some of the remaining sugar. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Again, suddenly, it’s as if the noise of the other patrons doesn’t matter.

Thor takes a deep breath. “I’m not sure how to say this.”

Clint, sandwiched between the two of them, coughs and says, “Oh, Bruce dropped a napkin,” before standing to retrieve it. He claims Bruce’s vacated chair. A chair Tony would avoid, convinced it would splinter his ass.

“Hey.” Tony flashes a grin. It feels artificial. “It’s cool, yeah. Just go for it.”

Thor nods and says, voice uncharacteristically quiet, “I knew that your company owns Tesseract.”

“Right,” says Tony. Shit.

“I simply…” Thor’s expression hardens. “Loki will not speak to me, and I have been worried about him since the day that he left. The fact that he was not at our mother’s funeral was…” A pause. “It frightens me, Stark.”

Tony looks at Clint. The guy appears to have discovered the holy grail in the dirt under his nails. But he won’t leave unless he’s asked.

“My apologies,” Thor continues, “but I know that you always have access, and I would get nothing from my brother were I to go. He would react poorly.”

“Sounds like that’s putting it lightly,” says Clint under his breath.

“Just, please.” And Tony can feel the full force of Thor’s eyes on him as he says it. “Please, will you attend in my stead? I must know if Loki is alright.”

Tony feels like his heart stops for a second. Not in the fun times bullshit romance novel way. He knows the weight of what Thor is asking, and … Fuck. It’s heavy. And why the hell would Thor ask Tony, anyway? Thor, who’s got tons of friends, most of whom aren’t petty enough to start pissing contests with suspected terrorists. Hell, Tony’s convinced that if he walked onto the Enterprise-D then Picard would have him escorted off in minutes for sheer lack of class. In what fucked up universe is Tony the best choice for this task?

“Shit, Thor,” Tony says. “I don’t know that I can do that. I mean, I’d like to help, but I’m just not the guy, you know?”

Thor looks at him for a long moment. Tony swallows. He’s waiting for Thor to press it, to argue, but all he gets is a quiet, “I understand. Thank you.”

A silence. Running away seems like a good option right now. Why didn’t Clint take it? But then, it also seems like the only appropriate thing to do is stay with these two friends he hasn’t seen in such a long while, especially with one of them suffering so much. Man, but Tony did not sign up for this.

Suddenly, Clint says, “Anyone else hungry?” and it’s like a messenger has arrived from the heavens. “There’s not a lot here. We could go find someplace else.”

“Sure, absolutely. Lead the way, Barton,” says Tony. He hopes that he doesn’t sound too eager, but in fairness, he’s not sure that the others would judge him too harshly if he did.

Thor seems fine when they leave. Clint makes a joke, and he laughs. He’s his usual self on the street. Jovial. Too big for the sidewalk. It’s terrifying. No one should be living in such a flip-flop facade.

That doesn’t make Tony the right person for what Thor wants, though. He knows that he isn’t. What the hell would he say? He can charm and bullshit his way through a lot of situations, but charm and bullshit aren't what’s needed here. Tony does hope that Thor finds out how his brother is doing, but if Tony were the one to go say howdy to Loki (who, seriously, Tony’s never even met before) then he would just make it worse. Tony probably does enough of that in his own life, right?

Still. Thor waited until half the group had left to bring it up. And he didn’t ask Clint to do it.

*

It’s late. Or, technically, it’s early. Tony’s sitting rigidly on his bed, browsing the internet on his phone. Nothing goes in. The events of the day are stuck at the forefront of his mind. He wants to be thinking, “Hey, it sure was cool to see those guys again,” but what he’s got is a little more like “Fuck, I hope Thor’s okay.” Tony sure wouldn’t want to be in Thor’s position.

Tony’s on Tesseract’s website before he knows what he’s doing. Yep, Leaf Isle (that’s still a stupid name for a band) would be the warm-up for the headline act—who Tony’s definitely never heard of. Loki will be there.

Damn it. 

Shitty stuff from the past isn’t welcome, but it comes up anyway. Tony doesn’t have a little brother, but what he does have is a strong impression of just how protective Thor is of his own. Of just how much he loves him. And it’s not like … it’s not like Tony doesn’t get the pain of losing a parent.

Now he has to, doesn’t he? He finds Thor’s number and calls the guy. And please, Odinson, don’t be one of those with a healthy sleep schedule and this call be a wake up one.

It takes about twenty seconds for Tony to get a word in when Thor does answer. The hour must have him thinking that something is wrong.

“No, no. I’m good. I’m fine. Great!” Tony says. “I just … Okay, honestly? I was just looking at Tesseract’s website. Saw Loki’s band listed there.”

“Yes?” And it’s odd that that’s all Tony gets.

“Yeah, I…” He knows what he wants to ask, but … Fuck it, Stark. Just go for it. “Why did you ask me to go check on your brother for you? Great as I am, I’m not exactly Mr. Sensitive. Is it just because of the building thing or—?”

“Stark.” Thor, like many, has had to train that keen sense of when Tony’s about to ramble. “Would you like me to answer that honestly?”

“Uh. Yeah. Please.”

“Very well.” There’s a long moment of silence, but Tony won’t move. “I’m aware that I have a number of friends I could ask, and I know that they would each one gladly help me, but I feel that they would not treat Loki as they should if they did so.”

“What does that mean?”

“Many of my friends have known Loki for much, if not all, of his life. They knew him through his darkest times, but I fear that they have little sympathy for him. That is their right, in the end, but it means that while I can trust them to be a friend to me I cannot trust that they will be such to my brother.” Another silent moment. “I don’t wish for someone to go if it will be as my friend before all else.”

“Okay…” Tony considers. “Not to be a broken record, but what does that mean?”

It’s like Tony can hear the smile when Thor next speaks. “I know you, my friend. And had I wanted another to go, I’d have asked another. The fact that you own the building has nothing to do with it, really. It merely gave me the thought.” Yet another silence, before Thor says, “More than any of my friends, I trust you to speak with Loki and actually speak with Loki. You would listen to him, as him. Even if you went and considered all I've said to you, you'd not have in your head any agenda set by me as your first thought.”

Shit. Shit. Tony has to take a second.

“You really believe that.”

“I do, my friend. I do,” Thor says.

“Well. I. Fuck.”

This situation… It’s weird. It’s a lot. He’s being asked to get involved in the life of a guy he doesn’t even know. And with everything that he knows about Loki and his past, he’s got no reason to think that he won’t be dismissed with anger and have nothing to show for it. It’s a lot to ask of a guy like Tony. And it’ll probably come to nothing.

“Okay,” says Tony. “I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Thor asks.

“I mean, no, but, I want to,” Tony says. “But I’m not going to push him. I’m a stranger to the guy. If he tells me to fuck off then I’m gonna fuck off. I’ll just do what he’s okay with.”

“My friend, that is all I can ask of you,” Thor says. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, of course,” says Tony. “Website says they’ll be playing on Friday. I’ll go by and tell you how bad I fucked up after. Sound like a deal?”

Thor laughs, though Tony was only half joking. “Thank you, friend. Really.”

“No problem,” says Tony. “I’ll see you round, Thor.”

He hangs up. Falls back onto his bed. Swears. He’s still conflicted on the desire to do this. But, to hell with it. He said he was going to do it, and he’ll do it.

And anyway, it does actually sound like someone should see if Loki is okay.

*

Tony has regrets.

He knows immediately that, were it not for the eco-friendly thing, he would have nothing to do with this venue. It's not his speed. But he didn’t know it was horrifying. It’s got this vibe like a mad scientist has gone and bred Coldplay with Starbucks—and everything is so fucking  _blue_. Blue lights are everywhere. And, hey, blue’s great. More power to blue. But how many eco-friendly blue bulbs does one building need?

Should he write why he agreed to do this on the back of his hand? He keeps feeling about a second away from forgetting and getting the hell out.

They let him in because he’s Tony Stark. That’s great and all, but he’s also faced with the problem that people are going to recognize him because he’s Tony Stark. He’s the only person here in a suit, too, and probably the only one who’s never ordered an oprah cinnamon chai tea latte (and thanks to Brucie for teaching him that order. Is it wrong to miss the days when Tony felt like _he_ was drinking the fancy coffee?) so basically he’s fucked.

The genius that he is, he didn’t get a game plan before arriving either. He knows he could get backstage - Tony Stark, a great status of being - but he doesn’t know if potentially disrupting the band’s entire performance is the best idea. Just one more reason to be pissed at Tony, right? This whole situation might have been easier if he knew anything about where the band was staying or where else they might be, but, no. He’s got this and this only. And in the spirit of not causing more upset than necessary, he decides at the last minute to wait until after Leaf Isle ( _dumb_ band name, guys) come offstage to do anything.

Huh. That means he could have arrived a little later, doesn’t it?

The building has two main areas, from what Tony can see. It looks like there’s a bar area in a completely separate room to where the stage is. He figures it might be worth hanging out there for a while. But it also might be worth at least catching sight of Loki first. Just so he’s sure.

In the room with a stage, there’s this guy who slurs every word who seems to be running the event. He hops up onstage and delivers an uninterested introduction spiel. Loki’s band will be on any minute and … is “weird” the right word for this whole scenario? Because this all feels fucking weird.

Seriously, why did he agree to this?

Tony had to do at least a little research before coming here tonight since the only thing that he knew about the band was that Loki’s in it. Well, that and more than once Thor has looked irritated when mentioning them, which is interesting.

It’s a band of four. Loki’s the youngest. It existed for years before Loki’s involvement, with those other three members. They all have names Tony would be nervous to try and pronounce without guidance. Tony doesn’t want to make a Goldilocks comparison with these guys, but. Shit. There’s this big guy - real big, all muscle - and a man with a much slighter figure. Then the man noteworthy for how in the middle of the other two he is. That guy’s interesting because of how little information there is about him compared to the others. There’s just sort of that he’s in the band and was in the band before Loki. And apparently, Laufey has two other sons who might occasionally help with the business side, but they don’t get much of a look-in.

None of it made for a thrilling read. Tony wishes that he knew how to care more.

When the band does make it onto the stage, Tony spots Loki immediately. Loki, a fan of leather, with long hair that must be a real pain in the ass hanging loosely around his shoulders. Loki spends a short while tucked at the back of the stage with the least massive bandmate. Raze, Tony remembers. Easiest name _to_ remember.

Then suddenly, the big guy grabs a microphone and screams something incomprehensible. The crowd, still gathering, calmly loses its shit and Tony’s ears start bleeding. Loki raises his eyebrows and shakes his head at Raze.

Screw it. Tony knows Loki is here. He knows that they’ll only be on for a short while. He knows that he has to catch Loki later, and he can do that. For now, though, he can camp out in the other room where the noise will be subdued.

As Tony leaves, the big guy takes his microphone of its stand and swings it right at Loki, who ducks it so swiftly it’s almost as if nothing happened. It probably is for the best that Tony doesn’t stay for the whole thing.

It feels like an age later that Tony finally hears a lull. He puts down his drink (which thankfully isn’t in a test tube; he’s had too many of those in his life) and listens. It goes on like that, quiet, for a while. And hey, Tony volunteered for this right?

He slips back into the stage room. People are walking and chatting and pushing past Tony to get to the bar and, yeah, this is definitely a break. (Should he be mad that being Tony Stark is getting him no brownie points here?) There’s a small table covered in merchandise at the back of the room. It’s being halfheartedly managed by Mr. Middleman right now, who’s talking to some fans (maybe? probably?) with little apparent interest.

Tony scans the room. He spies Raze and the big guy on a bench in the corner, also talking to a few people. Hm. But Tony doesn’t see—

And then he does. Loki emerges from a bathroom at the back of the room. Tony decides to take a second. Watch him. It sounds creepy even to Tony, but he wants to get a better sense of things.

Tony’s not sure what he was expecting from Loki. He’s seen photos of him, heard Thor’s stories, but how he’ll be right now in this setting is a mystery. Tony would think it reasonable for Loki to be less than his best self. That’s part of what had Tony so apprehensive about talking to him. Tony could be walking into anything. Loki could be in pieces, whether it is visible or not. It’s … fuck.

From a place he grabbed at the edge of the bar, sunglasses on because fuck it, Tony watches Loki as he approaches Raze and the big guy. He seems … fine. Raze says something. Loki laughs. He exchanges some words with the rest of the congregated group, and with more enthusiasm than his bandmates. He seems happy enough. And Tony was already going to manage a hello, but now he’s also curious. Or … worried. Fuck.

Tony does catch something. Every so often, Loki seems to scan the room as if he’s expecting someone to jump out at him. Tony’s not sure how long it takes, but Loki scans the room again - and notices Tony. Tony decides to use it. Since he’s got his sunglasses on (which really is dumb, because the lighting in here is fucked) he slides them down his nose, freezing long enough to make eye contact with Loki, before removing them and putting them in his front pocket. He doesn’t break eye contact with Loki all the while.

It works. Well, Tony supposes it does. What he actually wants out of this situation is beyond him.

Loki says something to Raze. Raze gives this over dramatic eye roll and hits the big guy on the shoulder, but then says something with a nod and Loki departs—and heads towards Tony.

Right then. So this is happening.

Loki is at Tony’s side before Tony’s caught up with the situation. He leans on the bar, surveying Tony with a blank expression. But says nothing. Tony is silent too. He keeps up the awkward eye contact, though, noting somewhere in the back of his mind that Loki is wearing eyeliner.

“Hey. Nice hair,” says Tony when the silence gets too much. He holds out a hand. “I’m Tony.”

Loki raises an eyebrow and remains silent. Tony drops his hand.

“So, uh, how’re you doing?” Wow, is Tony already bullshitting him?

Loki is silent for a long moment. Then, barely audible over the crowd, “Really.” And it doesn’t sound like a question.

His voice is a world away from Thor’s, too. Thor has that loud voice that can be heard across a room, that gets commanding and threatening if he quietens it enough. It’s a real do-not-fuck-with-me voice. Just that one word is enough to show how different Loki’s voice is. A different pitch. Lighter. Softer? Tony knows that they’re not blood relatives, but it still hits him.

“Really, what?” Tony says.

Loki lets out a breath of laughter. Tony can’t catch any emotion behind it.

“When you next see my brother, would you ask that he refrain from sending his friends to interrogate me?”

Looks like Loki clocked Tony the second he saw him. Tony should have expected that. He’s heard stories about Loki that tell him he’s like that.

“Ah. So you got that then,” says Tony.

“I did.”

“Cool.”

Actually, it is. It makes the conversation - or whatever this is - easier, somehow. But it also gives Tony a thought.

“So, you knew I’d be here?”

“I knew that Thor would send someone, yes.”

Tony smiles. “Well, you got me.”

“Quite.” Loki looks him up and down. “And that is certainly … interesting.”

Tony laughs, which is unexpected. “You’re telling me. Of the two of us, I think you’re the only one who can actually believe that I’m doing this.”

Loki doesn’t answer that. Instead, he leans forwards. It almost closes the gap between them. Tony doesn’t step back. He feels like it’ll lose him points if he does. He hasn’t been told to leave yet, but can it really be that far off? Besides, he feels like the invasion of personal space is to throw him off. He won’t have that.

Loki jerks his head in Raze’s direction. “Raze wondered what on earth you could be doing here, but of course he has no idea that you are friends with Thor.” He cocks his head. “And I must say that I wouldn’t guess that you are a … sensitive soul.”

“You’re not wrong. I get called an asshole a…” Tony rubs the back of his neck. “Well, a lot, actually. But I make up for it.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Loki is running his index finger across the top of the bar. He appears fixated on it. Where Tony is standing, he’s leaning into Loki’s arm. This whole situation is ridiculous.

“Like I said, nice hair,” says Tony. Figures he might as well see what he can get away with without pushing Loki into sharing something personal. “You ever feel conspicuous dressed like that?”

“Do you?”

Tony laughs. “It is true that I carry a spotlight with me wherever I go.”

Loki frowns. “You don’t look comfortable, I must say.”

“Yeah. I’ll give you that one too.” Tony clears his throat.

“Hm.” Loki smiles. “If you’re not comfortable here, perhaps you should consider relocating to a place where you might settle a little easier.”

Tony balks. He came here expecting Loki to tell him to turn right around and leave, but…

“Are you hitting on me right now?” Tony asks, though he’s already like ninety-five percent sure of the answer. “Because, I gotta say, I’m not sure that you’re worth your brother ripping my balls off. I mean. No offense.”

Loki chuckles. “I take none.”

It seems like he does. Maybe not at Tony’s comment, though, but something else. Or maybe Tony’s imagining things. Who the hell knows anymore?

“But, uh, are you?” Tony says.

“Am I what?”

“Hitting on me.”

“Oh.” Loki shrugs. “Perhaps.”

Tony claps his hands together. “I can safely say that I didn’t see that coming. Are you doing it just to fuck with your brother?”

Again, “Perhaps.”

“Mm-hmm. Okay. Sure,” says Tony. He winks. “If that excuse makes you feel better.”

Loki shakes his head and says, “You came here on Thor’s behalf, but you both surely know that I have no desire to speak about it.” He touches Tony’s upper arm. “I hope you’ll forgive me if I allow my bandmates to misinterpret this conversation. I have no desire to speak with Thor, and _no_ desire to speak with anyone else.”

And, fuck. He doesn’t shout the words. Doesn’t raise his voice at all. But suddenly his jaw is clenched and his eyes are dark and Tony feels like he’s awoken a dragon.

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay,” Tony says. He’s convinced it’s useless, but. “I get it. I'd be pissed if this happened to me, too.”

Loki doesn’t say anything to that.

“Okay. Right,” Tony says. “So, take it you won’t be telling me anything that’ll interest Thor then.”

“Not a thing.”

Tony shrugs. “Okay. Fair enough. I’ll be sure to tell your brother that you’re still on Earth with us.” He flashes a grin. “Have a nice night there, Loki.”

Like he said to Thor, if Loki doesn’t want to talk then he doesn’t want to talk. Loki’s clearly in pain, but that’s also none of Tony’s business. He’s not about to stick around and harass him, so he does what he feels he should and turns to leave.

He’s stopped by the feeling of a hand on his shoulder, gentle. Loki, of course. Tony turns back and sees the man there with this expression that would be blank, were it not betrayed by the flash in his eye. It reminds Tony of the look that Bruce gets in the second before he snaps and loses his temper.

“You okay there?” Tony asks as Loki removes his hand from Tony’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” Loki sounds almost flustered. He looks away, arms folded. When he looks back it’s a real if-looks-could-kill moment. Shit.

“What?” Tony tries to sound gentle. Diplomatic. Or something. He’s not sure he pulls it off.

“Nothing,” Loki says. Tony’s only guess is that he acted impulsively and is now regretting it.

“Okay,” says Tony. “Hey, I can still leave if you—”

“I do wonder,” Loki murmurs. Or, Tony thinks that he does. What with the noise from the crowd it’s hard to be sure.

“Laufeyson!”

Tony turns at the sharp call of Loki’s name. It’s Raze, the big guy in tow. When they reach Loki and Tony the big guy hits Loki on the arm. Violent comradery. It brings to mind Thor’s friendly smacks on the back that always leave Tony wondering how he’s not hurtling into the nearest wall. Loki’s expression does darken at the contact but quickly evens it out.

“Raze. Hailstrum,” he says.

Ah, so that’s his name. The one that sounds like a shitty weather/guitar pun, so fitting for this band. Tony remembers it from the website now. Loki says it like he’s just been hugged by a much-disliked cousin at a family reunion.

“Did you know that there are a number of other bands at this hotel? For the whole weekend,” Hailstrum says. Fucker sounds like he’s gargling gravel when he talks.

“I did,” says Loki.

Raze rolls his eyes again. Holds up his phone. “They appear to have started a … gathering in our absence. We have been invited, so we’ll be leaving. I would rather leave before the main band comes on if you don’t mind.” He smiles. Tony doesn’t like it. “I take it you’ll be joining us?”

Tony's probably imagining it. No, he has to be imagining it. Because somewhere in his mind he's convinced that the words sound like a threat. And they can't be, right?

Loki nods. “Of course.”

“Excellent,” says Raze, pocketing his phone. “Meet us outside. But do remember that we’re not likely to wait too long for you.”

With a curt nod at Tony, Raze departs.

Hailstrum’s eyes flit to Tony, then back to Loki. “You know, Laufeyson, if you strike out then grabbing the man by the shoulder isn’t the right response.”

Loki only shakes his head. Hailstrum laughs and hits Loki’s arm again. 

“But,” says Hailstrum, “if your friend does join us then Raze owes me twenty.”

“I’ll be out shortly,” says Loki.

Hailstrum lets out a deep laugh and leaves.

“Well they seem, you know, the worst,” says Tony. “They definitely think that you’re hitting on me.”

Loki smirks. “That is the only acceptable thing that they would believe.”

“Why? Do they think you’re a slut?” asks Tony. He mock gasps. “ _Are_ you a slut?”

“That is an ugly word,” Loki says quietly. “Are you?”

“Oh, screw you.” Tony clicks his tongue. “Sorry for making your buddies think that you struck out.”

“Well. I was trying to make you leave.”

“But you didn’t think I was going to.” Tony pokes Loki’s arm. “I can tell.”

“It is true that it’s not typical of Thor’s friends to give me peace when I—”

“Want them to fuck off?”

“Yes.”

Tony nods. “Well, if you want me to fuck off then here I go, fucking off.”

For the second time he turns to make his exit, but then he has a thought. And it’s probably ridiculous because he met Loki a few minutes ago and he didn't even want to be around here in the first place. And because, of course, this whole fucking situation is batshit. But he’s thought “fuck it” enough recently, so why not again?

What could possibly go wrong?

“Unless, of course,” Tony begins, and Loki frowns, “you don’t want your buddies to think that you struck out.”

Loki blinks at him. “Now that, you don't have to do.”

“That's true, but…” Tony sighs. “But this evening was all that I had on my schedule. I got nowhere else to be.”

“I’m flattered,” says Loki flatly.

“Ah, come on,” says Tony. He smiles, hopes it looks as genuine as it is. “I didn’t wanna do this for Thor and I can tell that you’re, you know, functioning. I’m not trying to find a sneaky way to get information out of you. I’ll still leave if you tell me to leave. I’m not…” He sighs again. “Hell. I’m not gonna push, okay?”

Nothing from Loki. It’s one of those times when you can really hear the gears grinding in somebody’s head. They’re standing there for so long that the announcer gets back on the stage and, fuck, but Tony does not want to stick around for more music. (No offense, Leaf Isle.) In a move that he definitely wasn’t expecting a couple of minutes ago, Tony holds out his hand.

Loki assesses Tony for a moment longer. Then, after a look to the announcer with the slurred voice, he takes the offered hand. Tony nods and drags him through the crowd and out of the door.

Once they’re in the atrium area, which is slightly quieter, Tony leans towards Loki so that he can say quietly, “I’m just gonna preface this by saying that I’m not trying to pry, but I sort of got the impression that you and Raze aren’t the best of friends.”

“That…” Loki takes a step towards Tony and, shit, Tony didn’t register before that Loki had that height over him. “That is true.”

The front door is open. There’s no one watching it. No quality control here, hm? Tony can make out a car outside, and the bored looking Raze, Hailstrum and Mr. Middleman (Tony should probably learn his name) interacting with one another there.

“Then I guess we don’t want him winning any bets, do we?” Tony says.

“I’m sorry?”

Tony laughs. “Listen, Loki. If I know one thing about being a stubborn bastard - and, no offense, but your brother kinda unintentionally paints you as a stubborn bastard - but whatever.” A sharp intake of breath. “If I know one thing about being a stubborn bastard, it’s that you don’t let anyone you don’t like win any bets that are about you.”

“I know,” says Loki, clearly hesitant. “I agree. I’m just not certain that I—”

“You heard Hailstrum. Raze bet that you were gonna strike out. At the very least, you could convince him that you haven’t,” Tony explains. “And anyway. Your buddies thought you were hitting on me. You didn’t actually have to, but you kinda did.”

“I was curious,” Loki says. Tony’s guess is that it’s defensive.

“About what?”

“What sort of friend of my brother’s you might be.” He smiles as he says it. Not a warm fuzzy smile, is Tony’s guess, but he doesn’t want to think about what kind of smile it is.

“ _Game of Thrones_ as all of this is, I still don’t think you should go about letting guys you don’t like get money they don’t deserve. You have to know that it’s just not the stubborn bastard way.”

“Ah,” says Loki, nodding. “Very well. If you insist.”

“I do,” says Tony. “Stubbornly. It was my plan coming with you in the first place, remember?”

Loki laughs. And Tony, conscious of the eyes on them and the fact that he doesn’t want to be standing here forever, reaches up and kisses Loki. It’s just brief because if it lasted longer it would definitely feel weird, but it’ll be enough. When Tony pulls away he looks through the door. Raze is already handing money over to Hailstrum. As if the action is a non-action. 

Tony laughs and drags Loki outside.

It's not that Tony doesn't know that he's probably making a pretty insane decision right now. He does. This is absolutely not what he came here to do and probably not at all what he should be doing. But he already made the speech to Loki about being a stubborn bastard. It's not really like he can back out of it now, is it?

The car outside looks like it was expensive, once upon a time, but like it’s ready to fall apart now. Mr. Middleman is examining a large scratch in the paintwork.

He turns, suddenly, frowning at Loki. “You needn’t be so petty, Laufeyson.”

“Why Grundroth,” says Loki, grip on Tony’s hand tightening for a moment, “I can’t imagine what you mean.”

Grundroth, is it? Is Tony meant to remember that?

Grundroth sighs and opens the front door of the car. So these guys do have a driver. Cool. Grundroth keeps his hand there like he’s claimed the seat. Like he really doesn’t want to be shoved in the back of the car with the four people he’s now assessing like they’re morons. And, being included in that set of morons, a part of Tony wants to get defensive. However, he says nothing. Grundroth climbs into the front seat, and shortly after the radio comes on.

Tony suspects that it’s in place of a lecture when Raze raises an eyebrow Loki. He climbs into the backseat furthest from the sidewalk. Hailstrum, who takes up so much room by himself, ends up in the middle seat. It doesn’t look like it’ll be much fun in there.

Hailstrum is watching Tony. Tony can feel it. In most circumstances, Tony would come up with some quip, as Hailstrum seems like he’s trying to intimidate him, but the guy is huge so Tony decides against it. You can be a quiet stubborn bastard.

Tony feels Loki’s breath against his ear with the quiet, “Ignore him. He thinks himself a master tactician.” He squeezes Tony’s hand. “He is not.”

Loki says that so dryly. Tony can’t help but laugh. Of course, foot living in his mouth as it does, he doesn’t realize until afterward how the people in the car might interpret that.

“Laufeyson,” says Raze, rubbing his temple, “if you could use the brain in your skull for five minutes I would greatly appreciate it.”

Loki lets go of Tony’s hand, instead resting his palm against the top of the car. He leans forwards towards Raze and Hailstrum, and Tony just hears him say, “Oh, I’d never dream of it.”

Raze and Hailstrum don’t appear too impressed by that. As a unit, they pull Loki inside the car. Loki does handle it pretty elegantly, though. It makes Tony feel like he's more than used to them doing that.

“Is your friend coming?” Raze asks, smirking.

Loki cocks his head as he looks at Tony. “Are you?”

Tony makes sure to smile. He wants to, because he's getting bad vibes from Loki's bandmates.

“Aw, I wouldn't leave you guys for the world,” Tony says.

“Marvellous,” says Raze flatly. “Hailstrum, would you mind?”

Hailstrum nods curtly, like a bouncer or bodyguard ordered to boot someone from the premises. He leans across Loki and grabs Tony by his suit jacket (Tony decides it's not worth mentioning just how fucking much this outfit cost, dammit) and pulls him inside the car. It leaves Tony in a sort of jumbled mess. And he's well aware of the fact that he's been haphazardly thrown on top of Loki. It's as he processes this that Hailstrum somehow manages to close the door.

“Hello,” says Loki. Fucker's clearly more amused by this than he should be.

“Hey there.”

Tony puts his effort into rearranging himself and, to his credit, Loki helps him with that. So Tony ends up sitting on Loki's lap. And he has to put an arm around the guy's shoulders because fuck but he's got no balance otherwise. It's not the best position to be in, fragile little sense of masculinity considered, but he won't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing that get to him, will he?

“That’s illegal,” Grundroth mutters. It’s only just audible over the music. Raze laughs.

Tony has to agree. “Yeah. Definitely breaks all the rules of road safety.”

“You say that as if it’s reason to complain,” says Loki.

The driver pulls away suddenly then like they’ve just fucking robbed a bank.

Hailstrum leans back in his seat, turns to Raze and says, “Why do we let him bring people back with us?”

Tony doesn’t make a slut joke. It seemed to bother Loki the first time. And they’re never funny coming from him, anyway.

“Would that I knew, Hailstrum.”

Tony sticks his tongue out at them.

Raze sighs. “Oh, finally, I see the attraction.”

“Should I be offended?” Tony whispers the words in Loki’s ear. Especially with the radio playing music, he’s pretty sure that the others won’t be able to hear him. They’re not paying attention anyway.

“Yes,” says Loki with a smile. “Perhaps.”

Tony laughs, and whispers, “Are you just going to give answers that make it sound like I'm whispering sexual things?”

“I might.”

“You shouldn’t be having so much fun with this.”

“Oh, more than fun,” says Loki. His hand hovers just above Tony’s leg as if asking permission. Tony nods, and when Loki touches his leg whispers, “Thanks, that was real gentlemanly.”

All of this is probably terrible.

“Your brother is going to kill me,” Tony says.

Loki turns his head, and Tony has to pull back just a little. “Not if you behave yourself.”

Oh, now the asshole’s done it.

“You stop that,” says Tony.

“Make me.”

Tony doesn't even care how juvenile this is. He's going to. Tony Stark doesn't just go and ignore a challenge. No way.

“Oh, don’t say that. That’s disgustingly cliché,” he says, and then he kisses Loki.

When he pulls back, Loki's raising an eyebrow at him. Tony can't read that expression properly. It’s not genuine anger or annoyance. More, it seems like Loki too is the sort of person who won't be the first to back down.

Oh good. So they're both childish, then. That sure stands Tony in good stead on the not getting murdered by Thor for defiling his brother side of things, doesn’t it?

“What?” says Tony.

Loki's eyebrow is still raised. The suddenly it isn't, and he pulls Tony's head forwards and they're kissing again. It’s unclear if it's to best Tony, or to make his bandmates uncomfortable, but either way Tony goes with it. He feels like he dived head first down the rabbit hole long ago. We're all mad here, right?

“Would Laufey be angry with us if we killed him?” Tony hears Hailstrum ask.

A sigh, and then Raze says, “Yes.”

Tony pulls away from Loki and says to the duo, “That's not nice.”

“Neither is this.” Raze gestures at Tony and Loki. “We did only ask for your upstairs brain for a mere five minutes, Laufeyson.”

“That is true.” Loki looks firmly at Tony, but Tony feels that hand move further up his leg and—shit. “Behave yourself.”

"I always behave myself!" says Tony indignantly. But he rests his head in the crook of Loki’s neck because, no, he doesn’t.

In his seat in the front of the car, Grundroth swears.

*

A good while later, after Tony spends the journey discussing his feelings on Sansa Stark (how could Tony _not_ be loyal to the Starks?) with Loki, they end up at a high end (ish) hotel. It looks a little worn around the edges. But it’s big enough for a large crowd to be spread out through the building. Tony sees quickly that there are two bars: one attached to a still open restaurant and one, downstairs, just a dark looking room with a collection of tables and chairs that might have been more organized before this crowd settled in. There is definitely a party going on here.

The band makes straight for this downstairs bar and Tony is carried with them. It’s half out of fear of being crushed by the crowd that he doesn’t let go of Loki’s hand. Is it a comment on the gig that this place is much more crowded than Tesseract? Regardless, Tony’s feeling a bit more anonymous with a crowd this size and this is one of those nights when he’s grateful for that.

Hailstrum catches sight of someone he seems to know, another hulking guy at the bar—one who needs to put on a shirt. He punches Raze and Loki on the shoulder (Loki looks about ready to stab him, Christ) and is off. Raze pulls Grundroth aside, a stream of spittle flying from his mouth as he says something to him. Tony can’t catch the words with this crowd and music, but Grundroth listens, nods and - huh, odd - heads right back out of the bar and up the steps. Tony thinks that he’s heading towards the elevator that he saw when they entered.

“I should probably follow Hailstrum. He only ever causes disagreements at events like these,” Raze says when he returns.

“Wise,” says Loki.

“I do hope we don’t lose you again tonight, Laufeyson,” says Raze. His eyes are on Tony for a second before, “Have … fun with your new friend, hm?”

He waves and departs. Tony watches him until he’s joined Hailstrum at the bar before he says, “Slimy. That’s what he is. He’s slimy.”

“Is that so?”

“You’re the one who said you don’t like the guy.” Sure, Loki didn’t say those words exactly, but did he need to? “No point fighting me if I say he’s slimy.”

Loki looks away. “Come on.”

He leads Tony to where this odd fireplace structure has created a sort of nook around the corner. Few people are back here, and they find seats at an empty table. Loki ends up with his back to the wall so that he’s still facing the crowd. Tony doesn’t want to join the Paranoid Parade tonight. He faces Loki, back to the gathering.

“Well, this place is … nice,” Tony says.

The room that they’re in is dark and can’t have been designed for this many people. It’s as if the crowd is stopping Tony from getting a good sense of the space, but he can’t imagine it would be any cozier if they weren’t there.

“When Thor and I were children, my family always stayed at the same hotel when we came to this city,” says Loki. Tony’s suddenly interested. Somehow, Thor’s failed to mention this in his many grand stories. “It remains a favorite. If I need a break from my band it’s where I tend to go. And they know nothing of it, so they can’t force my early return.”

“That actually doesn’t sound like the worst idea. Escape hotel,” Tony says. “No, really. Those guys in your band seem like a real riot.”

“Hailstrum used to be a boxer.” Loki’s eyes are on the partygoers behind Tony.

Tony laughs at that. He can picture it. He decides to tell Loki about his driver, dear Happy, who has been in similar situations in the past. It seems to catch Loki’s interest well enough, so Tony follows with the story of Natasha Romanoff - with the best description of Natasha that he’s able to give - beating happy in a brawl. Loki comments quietly that all of Thor’s friends were fond of fighting when they were younger, and he never could best Sif. That’s all that Tony can get out of him in that area. Discussing it seems uncomfortable. So, Tony decides to try talking about idle things like his suit and Loki's eyeliner for a while. Loki seems happy to oblige.

“Alright, answer me this at least,” says Tony finally. “We get here, and it’s a party. And I’m Tony Stark. I’m real good at parties.”

“I should hope so.” Loki’s not looking at him again.

“Yeah. But despite knowing, you take me here to this secluded corner of the place, don’t you?” Tony leans forwards and rests his chin on his hands. “Got any plans for me, Loki?”

Loki’s head snaps in Tony’s direction so fast that Tony’s surprised that his neck doesn’t fucking break. Tony is assessed for what feels like an age with Loki’s expression of analysis. Loki then smiles and pulls his leg up till his foot is resting on the chair. He wraps his arms around said leg and rests his chin on his knee.

“Actually, as you came to Tesseract tonight to interrogate me for my brother—”

“Well that’s … not true,” says Tony. It’s half true. It’s not like he wasn’t even a little bit worried about Loki.

Loki ignores that. “I was wondering if I might interrogate you.” And, oh, but that’s the sort of innocent smile that only a guilty person can wear. “Nothing too invasive. You have my word.”

“Mm.” Tony’s acting like he doesn’t believe him, but actually, he feels confident enough. “Alright. Go for it. It’s not like I’ve got any big secrets.” He frowns. “Well, not any corpses in my basement big secrets anyway.”

“Lovely.” Loki sits up, his foot dropping back to the floor. “Why?”

“Why, what?”

“Why did you choose to go to Tesseract?” Loki presses his palms together. “It doesn’t appear as if it was your first instinct.”

Tony shrugs. He should have expected this question. “It wasn’t my third, either. It was my seventh, maybe. I did tell Thor that I wouldn’t do it at first.”

“Yet you did.”

“Yeah, well…” Tony takes a deep breath. “I’m not sure you want _Cheap Trick and a Cheesy One-Liner, The Tony Stark Story_ right now, but I get being in a shitty situation. I do. And I dunno, I…” He realizes that he absolutely does not want to go there. Not to the realm of family drama and handling it badly, or running off and doing what everyone else says is absolutely the dumbest thing you could do. By now, though, he’s got a strong enough sense of Loki that he thinks it’s okay to go with, “You know what I mean.”

Loki nods. “I do.”

Any last trace of humor from what went on in the car is gone now. Tony thought all of that was madness, but he misses it right now. Loki said he wouldn’t ask anything too probing. Tony’s sure that he’ll leave this where it is. But he wants to say something else first. Since Loki’s asked, and all.

“And besides, your brother said something that persuaded me. Had to. I didn’t know what the fuck had possessed him to come to me.”

He remembers the words that Thor spoke exactly. Tony was the one who would listen to Loki and be listening to Loki. It's ... Tony suddenly feels like that makes what's happening right now, in this conversation, full of more pressure. Not relieved of it. Tony wants this conversation to be done. He regrets agreeing to be questioned in the first place. He regrets pressing it when Loki would have let him move on. He starts to route himself towards an out. He’ll happily stay here with Loki if they can just talk about something else.

“You’re a grown up, Loki. I just wanted to, you know, double check I guess. Seemed only fair.” It might be the first real answer to Loki’s question he’s given. He pats the table twice. “You've not exactly given me a reason to think you're in immediate danger or anything, and the rest is none of my business. I get the impression that Thor's other buds think you're making stupid decision after stupid decision, but if my stupid decisions have taught me anything it's that they're mine to make and everyone can fuck off unless they're convinced I'm really going to hurt someone. You know?”

As conversational outs go, it's not exactly an avoidance tactic. But it gets it all out in one go. It's a fast forward.

Tony lets Loki sit there in silence. He knows that this is a lot. He can see Loki doing the math of the situation in his head and Tony sure as hell understands that. Loki’s expression falls, and his hands drop and he looks like he might snap in two. Tony decides to say something before the poor guy loses it.

“And okay, I’m not going to harass you about things you don’t want to talk about, but since you got to question me I think I have the right to point out that you hit on me back in Tesseract and that was your decision.”

Loki shakes off all darkness in his demeanor instantly. “As I said, I was curious.”

“Right. Fuck with me and see whether or not I stick my thumb in your eye. That’s usually my strategy too.” He points at Loki. “It’s a shitty one. We’re both fucked.”

“Ah well,” says Loki.

Tony grins and claps his hands together. “You should absolutely brush it off,” he says. “Not to sound like a narcissist – okay, totally to sound like a narcissist, fuck it – but you got to make out with Tony Stark, so. You can cross that off your bucket list.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

Tony laughs, but halfway through it manages to deteriorate into a sigh. “I know how protective your brother is, Loki. He loses his shit just talking about being worried about you, sometimes. He’s going to beat the shit out of me if he finds out about that, isn’t he?”

“As I said,” Loki says again, smirking now, “not if you behave yourself.”

“Shit,” says Tony. “Sure is a good thing that Steve wasn’t the one who came here tonight. And I understand that you don’t know Steve, but trust me. You’d have scared the pants off of him.”

“I do wonder how that would have been an inconvenience, given what we’ve been engaged in this evening.”

“Alright, Loki, I know that he’s a creepy fuck, but go with Raze on this one.” Tony taps his head. “Upstairs brain.”

“You first.”

“Sure, and I’m the one who should be behaving myself.” Tony gets up out of his chair. “I’m getting a drink. Don’t think I got enough during the gig. No offense.”

Loki shakes his head. “None was taken, I can assure you.”

“Can I get you anything?” And when Loki just shrugs. “Cool, guess I’m choosing for you then. I love responsibility.”

It’s only when Tony’s at the bar that he sees that Raze and Hailstrum are still there. Hailstrum is telling some story or other, acting it out quite dramatically. Raze, sitting on a stool that looks as comfortable as broken glass, watches him blankly. Tony hopes that they won’t notice him. At first, at least, they don’t. He manages to get in a drink order (nothing imaginative; he’s not in the mood) before they make any comment on his presence.

“Tony Stark,” Raze says.

“That’s me,” says Tony. “Got the monogrammed underwear and everything.”

“Do you think us fools, Stark?”

“Not in the biblical sense. Why do you ask?”

“We all know that you are a friend of Loki’s adoptive brother.”

Tony raises his hands like he’s surrendering. “Well, that’s bullshit unfair, to be honest, because I never let those Instagram pictures he tagged me in show up on my profile.”

That gets no reaction from Raze. Instead, Hailstrum takes a step forwards.

“Do me a favor and refrain from hitting the man who is wealthier than everyone else in this room combined, yes?” says Raze. “Your friend is still here. Spend some time with him, Hailstrum.”

Hailstrum huffs. He makes his exit as Raze suggests, but keeps his eyes on Tony for a good while as he does so. Tony doesn't feel all that threatened, if only because he's now getting the impression that Hailstrum wouldn't go a thing without Raze's say so.

“I'm afraid that you've caught Hailstrum at a bad time,” Raze says. “Usually, the man has a sharpness you'd not expect from him. But he does have a rage in him when he's had something to drink.”

“Yeah, I know a few people like that.” He shoots the bartender quick thanks as two drinks are presented to him, then says, “And you?”

“Don't drink. And nor does Loki, most of the time.”

“See me, I make a habit of being a bad influence,” says Tony. “He'll have his own monogrammed underwear by the time I'm done with him.”

Raze sighs like he's been dealing with a difficult six-year-old for too long. “As I say, I know you to be a friend of Thor. You think me foolish enough to miss that it is his influence which has you here?”

“I don't really think much of you at all, to be honest,” says Tony. That's the sliminess thing aside, of course.

Raze laughs, clearly dismissive. “I'd not give Laufeyson more credit than he deserves, but I'll grant that he has a sharp eye. He knows why you're here, Stark.”

“Yeah. We, uh, we covered that one already.”

“I imagine so.” Raze hops off his barstool, and edges that bit closer to Tony. “I'd never dream of doing anything to hurt Loki. It would so distress his father. It's hardly worth it. Loki thinks me too deep in the man's pocket, but then he thinks that we are all living in _Game of Thrones_.”

“That’s what I said!” says Tony. “Does a Laufeyson always pay his debts?”

Raze quirks an eyebrow. It’s way too Loki, for a second. “Funnily enough.”

He takes another step forward. He’s way too much in Tony's personal space now. It's like that earlier setup, back with Loki in Tesseract. But this time it just makes Tony feel gross.

“Loki will never tell you anything you'd see fit to report to his brother. And he will never be worthy of your trust or your liking. Be careful, Mr. Stark.”

“I'm always careful. Did me that sexual health stuff in high school, see.” He taps his temple. “Abstinence only. Like God did intend.”

Anyone who knew Tony would know that to mean, “I lost my virginity way too young and one time in my twenties I had dudes in places I did _not_ know I had places,” but Raze doesn't know Tony, despite what he seems to think. And thank fuck.

“Loki is a nightmare sometimes,” Raze says. It seems rather like a follow on from a train of thought Tony wasn't present to board. “We sometimes miss him for days at a time. We arrange to meet somewhere and find him absent. And this is hardly a habit he picked up when he joined us; it is the habit that led him to us in the first place. He takes liberties for his own misery. It is really quite exhausting.”

“Liberties for his misery,” Tony repeats. “That's a nice turn of phrase there, Raze. You're not the one who writes the lyrics for you guys, are you?”

Raze sighs theatrically and begins walking away without a goodbye. Honestly, if the band are always like this then maybe Loki has every right to feel like he's stuck in _Game of Thrones_. Tony's starting to.

Raze is a few paces away when he turns back and says, “Oh, if you could, do me a favor and tell Laufeyson that being Laufey's son does not mean that he can get away with murder.”

Tony salutes. “Will do.”

Tony can take what Raze has said on board, and he can then tuck it away and not tell Thor because ... He wonders suddenly if he should be trying to justify any of this anymore. Can't he just throw up his hands, declare “I've got no clue what the fuck I'm doing,” and move on? That's usually been the best way to try and keep hold of his sanity.

Back at their table, Tony hands Loki his drink and takes a seat.

“Raze says that being Laufey's son doesn't mean that you can get away with murder,” Tony tells him. “So you have corpses in your basement too?”

“And here I thought he'd forgiven me for breaking his guitar,” says Loki.

“Okay. Right. I get it. No interrogation, I'm down.” He clears his throat. “So what _are_ we doing? Are you trying to scare the pants off of me?”

Loki smiles. “And how might I accomplish that?”

“Well…” Tony makes a show of being thoughtful, scratching his chin and sighing theatrically Raze-style. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“That has never been true.”

“Sure it has. Maybe you were just flattering the wrong people.”

“Is that what you think?”

Tony swallows some of his drink, then rests it on the table and says, “For example, have you ever tried flattering Hailstrum?”

Loki flicks something that Tony can’t see off the table. “Have you ever tried flattering Thor?”

“Okay, you got me, I’m an asshole. But even being manhandled into a car I look great, and you can’t take that away from me.”

“Mm.” Loki cocks his head. “I think that I could.”

“Ooh. Smooth.”

“Thank you, Tony.”

Tony nods. It strikes him that that’s the first time Loki’s called him by his name.

“Alright then.” Tony leans across the table. “Go for it.”

Loki raises his eyebrows. “Go for what?”

“You know what. Don’t be an ass.” He leans back lifts his drink as if toasting. “Flatter me.”

Loki looks at Tony for a second, biting his thumbnail. Then, he lifts his drink too and says, “I can do that.”

Without warning, Loki downs a great deal of his drink. Enough that Tony thinks he might have given himself severe burns to the inside of the throat, or the ability to breathe fire. But he doesn't react to it. He watches Tony instead, not saying a word, and Tony takes that to be the signal that he should drink at least some of his own drink. So he does. He doesn't finish it because trying to do that while Loki's there with his eyes on him is an experience and a half. He just takes a frustrating (he hopes) amount of time to take three swallows, then sets his tumbler on the table.

Loki stands up as soon as the glass hits the table’s surface. He’s quickly standing beside Tony, arms outstretched.

“Where are we going?” Tony asks.

“Somewhere that Raze and Hailstrum are not,” says Loki.

Tony glances behind Loki. He can see Raze and Hailstrum in the crowd now. Hailstrum seems to have gotten into some kind of argument already. He's screaming at this poor man who's shriveled away from the giant shouting obscenities in his face. And then there's Raze, a few feet away, watching the scene before him like he's so above it all.

“That’s … fair enough, yeah,” says Tony.

He swivels and allows Loki to pull him to his feet. He’s walked across the room. How much of this night has he spent holding Loki’s hand, anyway?

“Say hello to Raze,” Loki says as they pass the forming fight scene. Tony chuckles and offers Raze a jovial wave that’s met with the shake of Raze’s head.

“He’s mad because we’ve given him bad bad mental images,” says Tony.

Loki shrugs, says, “I can live with that,” and pulls Tony out of the bar and up the steps. It does take a little while to navigate through the crowd and reach the elevator, but not too long.

“Raze sent Grundroth off up here,” Tony says as the elevator is called.

“I did notice that,” says Loki. His voice comes out quieter than Tony would expect. “Raze has always been very loyal to Laufey.”

“That so?”

“Like a son, I believe Laufey said at one point.” He gives Tony a smile that comes nowhere near to reaching his eyes. “The third son he never had.”

“I'd uh, just like to state for the record that I didn't ask for that information. You offered it freely.”

And there, the smile does hit Loki's eyes.

“I know,” Loki says as the elevator reaches them. “And I know that you would never tell Thor that I said such a thing.”

“You got me there,” says Tony. He just manages to get the words out before Loki pulls him inside.

In seconds the doors are closed. And holy shit, but there's elevator music playing. Proper stock music like they're in an awkward elevator scene in a movie. And it looks like they’re heading for a pretty high floor, too. Stuck in here for an age with that garbage.

Tony looks up at the ceiling. “What the fuck is even up with elevator music? Do you, like, think that any of the people who write elevator music actually woke up one morning and go, 'Boy, today I want nothing more than to write some fucking elevator music,' or—?”

He’s cut off by the force of Loki pushing him against the wall. Loki's taken that difference in height and used it to his advantage. Tony's pinned there with nowhere to look but up at Loki's face. Fuck.

“I thought I said that flattery will get you everywhere,” Tony says.

“And I thought I said,” Loki begins, speaking right in Tony’s ear, “that that has never been true.” And with every word, Tony can feel Loki’s breath brushing against his neck.

“Yeah. Well. I mean.” Tony bites his lip like some fucking nervous schoolgirl. “This works too.”

“Mm.”

Suddenly Loki’s a couple feet away from him and Tony drops a little. He didn’t realize until now that he’d been allowing Loki to support so much of his weight. Seriously. Fuck. Tony pulls on his jacket to straighten it. He feels like a mess, which is ridiculous because he knows full well that nothing has been done to him that might make him look like a mess.

The elevator reaches the floor that Loki pressed for and the doors open with a little dinging noise.

“Come,” says Loki.

Tony's immediate thought is, “what, already?” but he quickly files that away under, “things I will never say because they are categorically not funny,” and follows Loki.

They emerge into this vaguely Shining-esque hallway. Loki looks up and down as if he's expecting someone to appear from nowhere (and, to be fair, Tony supposes that Grundroth is still somewhere about) before he heads up the corridor. They stop maybe ten doors down from the elevator. It's a keycard lock, which Loki opens. He pushes the door open just enough, then freezes. Tony wonders why at first, but of course…

The click of a door opening and, “Laufeyson.”

Grundroth has appeared, as if by magic, out of a room a couple of doors down. Loki steps away from his own door but keeps a hand on it. Tony takes this as a signal to stand the fuck by the door. He doesn't think he wants to bail and make a quick exit into the room, but hey. Loki's the one who actually knows just what the hell is going on here. Probably.

“I was just talking to Laufey,” Grundroth says.

“Yes,” says Loki. “Oddly enough, Grundroth, that's not the sort of thing I would like on my mind right now.”

“I did notice that your companion is still here,” Grundroth says. He smiles at Tony. “Hello there.”

“Evening,” says Tony. “Nice night for it.”

Grundroth hits the door frame beside him lightly, a seemingly absent movement of deep thought. “Just see Laufey in the morning, if you would. I wouldn’t like to listen to another lecture because you don’t know when it’s appropriate to apologize.”

“Mm.” Loki takes a step towards the door, so Tony has to do the same and let the door open wider. Tony’s behind Loki now, his view of Grundroth obscured.

“Have a nice night, Loki,” Grundroth says, and then comes the sound of him shutting his door.

“Great guy,” says Tony. “I bet he has reading glasses. He seems like he would have reading glasses.”

“Are you alright?” Loki asks.

Tony waves his hand. “I think I’ve gone delirious.”

Loki laughs at him and pushes on his chest so Tony's heading back through the doorway. Loki follows him and side and nudges the door shut with his foot. He doesn’t turn on the light, though. There’s a lamp somewhere in the room behind Tony that Loki might have left on earlier, but they’re still standing there in semi-darkness.

“Are you alright?” Tony asks. “And that’s not me pressing you for information. You don’t have to answer.”

“I would be better if…”

Loki looks thoughtful. He then takes a step forwards and before Tony knows it he’s being pressed up against the wall again.

“Ah. Here we are,” Loki says.

“All better?” says Tony.

Loki nods once. “I think so.”

“Yay,” Tony says flatly. He tries to think for a second, then decides that it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t, so instead, he places a hand on the back of Loki’s head and says, “C’mere.”

And then Loki’s kissing him. And it’s not that jokey make-the-band-uncomfortable kissing. Loki’s properly kissing him, and forcefully, and there’s a buzzing in the back of Tony’s head that makes him think that he might have hit his head on the wall too hard, but he doesn’t really give a shit. He’s kind of distracted by the messiness, because it’s uncoordinated and teeth hitting teeth and that’s fine but – shit – it’s kind of hard not to be distracted by the fact that Thor’s little brother has his tongue in Tony’s mouth right now. This night really is not what Tony thought it would turn out to be. If it weren’t for his impending death by protective older brother, he’d probably be a full hundred percent okay with this whole thing.

Loki pulls away. An inch of distance between himself and Tony, he says, “Are you thinking about my brother?”

Okay, Tony’s heard from Thor that Loki’s perceptive, but he didn’t expect mind reading powers to be thrown at him unexpectedly.

“I…” Tony clears his throat. “He might have popped in there for a second. But not like how I think you’re suggesting.”

“I was suggesting no such thing.”

“Okay. Um.”

“Behave yourself,” is all Loki says.

“That I will,” says Tony.

He feels like this is awkward. Like this should be awkward. But Loki doesn’t seem to think so. He laughs off whatever was on Tony’s mind and kisses him again. This time, slowly, just pressing his lips lightly against Tony as if he’s asking Tony if this is okay. Tony doesn’t have to think to decide that it is, and responds. The pace of their kissing remains much slower, and it’s all okay. Tony can feel Loki’s hand resting on his chest. He wonders if his heart rate is alright or if he’s having a heart attack. It’s kind of hard to tell.

He’s not sure how much later it is that Loki’s hand moves from Tony’s chest. Tony’s eyes are closed and he doesn’t know where the hand goes, but it’s nowhere on his body. He tries very hard not to childishly complain about that. What Tony does feel is Loki’s lips move, tracing lightly up Tony’s jaw line. Tony goes with leaving his hands resting on Loki’s hips. 

“I meant to ask,” Loki whispers, and Tony feels his hand slide under Tony’s jacket, “do you dislike our music as much as I think you do?”

“Uh, yeah,” says Tony, eyes opening. He realizes a second later that his voice is a little breathy. “Yeah, I think I do. Sorry.”

Loki chuckles against Tony’s neck. Places a kiss there. “Thank you.”

“You’re fucking weird.”

“Mm-hmm.” It sounds distracted. It probably is. Loki manages to press their bodies even closer together and—fuck. It’s the first rush of feeling that hits Tony down there and his breath catches for a second. Loki chuckles. Of course the bastard knows.

Loki’s hands come to rest on the wall above Tony’s shoulders. Again, it’s as if he’s asking permission without doing so aloud. Tony nods and soon his jacket is sliding off his shoulders and hitting the floor. Somewhere, miles away, sounds the jingle of Tony’s keys.

Loki’s fingers curl around Tony’s tie and he tugs on it gently. “Will you promise me something?”

“That depends.”

Loki pulls at Tony’s tie again. His lips are almost touching Tony’s. “Do not tell Thor about this.”

“Oh.” Tony laughs, wrapping his arms around Loki’s midriff. “Yeah, that’s a promise that I can keep.”

*

Tony wakes with a start. A noise has dragged him from whatever sleep he was scraping. There’s a dull ache behind his eyes and he’s not sure where he is. He shifts, and the sheets move with him. They don’t come up further than his hips. No sense of location. No sense of time. He can’t ground himself.

He struggles to sit up. Ah, of course. He’s still in Loki’s hotel room. It’s still in semi-darkness. He notices now, as he blinks to adjust to the lighting, that Loki barely seems to have unpacked anything from the suitcase that sits open on the carpet. Loki’s entire life must be in that thing.

Damn it. It’s loud. It’s annoying. There’s someone hammering on the door.

Loki’s gone, as if he’s slipped out while Tony was sleeping. Which, fuck, is not the side of things that Tony’s usually on. He scans the room and notes the odd article of clothing here and there, but he can’t recover them without a clumsy trip around the room. Gee, that would be sexy. He lies down, positioning himself as if he hasn’t a care in the world. With no one else here, however, he supposes that that’s to comfort himself.

Should he be doing something about the door?

Suddenly, the bathroom door opens. Loki emerges, looking as ready to kill as he did when Hailstrum hit him playfully the downstairs outside the bar. He’s not fully dressed, but his bottom half is covered. Bastard. Tony sits up as soon as he sees him.

“Do excuse me,” Loki says, voice filled with unmissable malice. He picks his shirt off a heater and pulls it on roughly. The hammering on the door keeps up until Loki opens it, leaning out of the doorframe. Is that more to stop Tony seeing out, or the other person seeing in?

“I thought that you might be ignoring me.” It’s a deep, level voice that Tony doesn’t recognize.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” says Loki.

A laugh. “Yes, a boy raised by Odin is someone I can trust.” Tony hears what he guesses is a hand hitting the door. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, good. You’d not mind telling me, would you?”

“Now really, Loki,” comes the response. “Grundroth told me that you brought someone back here. I did wonder why felt the need to do so. I’d not want to pry into something like that.”

“And that is more than noble of you, Laufey,” says Loki. Tony can hear all the weight behind the words. And, now that he knows it’s Laufey out there, he has a better sense of the picture.

“Of course, Raze came by to say goodnight not too long ago,” says Laufey.

“Raze always has had excellent manners.”

Can’t be that excellent, can they? It has to be really late by now.

“He has. And he was kind enough to tell me who your guest is.”

Tony sees it unmistakably. Across the dimly lit room, Loki’s hand clenches on the door handle and the door shoots a couple of inches towards Laufey.

“Loki, please,” says Laufey. Maybe Tony’s imagining it because he can’t see the body language, but he feels like there’s something off in Laufey’s measured tone.

Loki says, quietly, “If you have something to say, you’re welcome to say it.”

Silence. A silence that drags on so long. Is Laufey gone? Has Tony missed it? Then, suddenly, Laufey speaks.

“Have I not done enough for you, Loki? Are my efforts not enough?”

“This is not what you think, Laufey.” Even in this hush, Loki’s voice is barely audible.

Laufey hits the door again. “I believe that I’ve done enough for you. It would be best that you don't sabotage that now.”

“That is an excellent point, yes,” says Loki with a nod. He turns to Tony and says pleasantly, “You’ve never met Odin, have you?”

“What?” Tony can’t help but feel that he would be more coherent if he weren’t butt naked less than twenty feet from the father of the man he’s just slept with, but he manages to say, “Can’t say that I have. Not once.”

“Thank you,” says Loki. He turns back to Laufey and says, “Your paranoia is not my problem.”

The door is hit yet again. “Not that I wish to repeat the words of countless who have come before me, but if it is fact, it is not paranoia. And this is especially true when Odin Borson is involved.” A moment's quiet, then, “And the late Frigga did tell me on our one meeting that you always were your father's son.”

“Perhaps, then, she neglected to mention that Odin is hardly my father.” Loki comes back with this answer so quickly that it’s like it’s scripted. He waves Laufey away. “Goodnight, Laufey.”

And before Laufey can say another word, Loki shuts the door on him. There's silence again, as Loki leans against the door and looks somewhere into the middle distance. His hands are clasped together. For once, Tony’s going to listen to the sense that tells him that it's inappropriate to say anything.

“I assumed that Thor knew,” Loki says, quietly. “I shouldn't have thought so; I was angry ... but that is why I never contacted him again after …” He sighs. “You made me realize that he doesn’t know, of course he couldn’t, and now I confess that I'm unsure what to do.”

Tony frowns. “You let me listen to that conversation.”

“I know.”

“I’m not going to tell Thor.”

Loki meets Tony's gaze. “I know.”

He crosses the room and takes a seat on the bed. He’s close enough that Tony could touch him without having to move closer, yet his back is almost to Tony.

“Even Laufey was affronted when I said I’d not attend the funeral.” Loki’s voice has once again reached that state of quiet. Now, though, it’s a little unnerving. “His wife passed away some years ago, and he told me that had he raised me and I refused to go to her funeral, he doesn’t know what he would do.”

Tony nods, assuming that Loki will see it in his peripheral vision. 

“Laufey and Odin have an old grudge, well known in our circle. It stretches back to a rivalry in their youth. Odin deemed Laufey amoral and Laufey thought Odin above himself, claiming stature that he didn’t have. Sometimes it almost seems as if the rivalry is forgotten, but then something happens and I find myself a pawn in one of their games.” He falters, losing height. “And I let myself be, and I pretend that I’m above it.”

“Loki.” Tony doesn’t have any other words. Loki turns to look at him, though, and maybe that’s … maybe that’s something?

Loki has perfect eye contact as he says, “I’m not wanted.”

Tony starts at the admission. This is such a fragile moment and Tony is such a sledgehammer of an individual. But who else would Loki share this with? He must be banking on some certainty that Tony won’t give this information - this belief, rather - to anyone else.

“You are,” says Tony, and when Loki merely frowns at him, “You are wanted.”

“And you know that.” It sounds like a statement rather than a question. Sarcastic.

“I do.” Tony laughs with no humor and then moves on before he can regret that. “Hey, Thor was desperate enough to send Tony fucking Stark to check on you. You’re wanted, Loki. Thor wants you in his life.”

“Mm.”

Loki moves where he sits. It looks like it’s easier to look at Tony this way. He rests his weight on a hand that he puts on the other side of Tony’s leg. He’s about as close to Tony as he could be.

“Listen,” says Tony, “you don’t have to—wait, what time is it?”

Loki shrugs. “About four.”

“Okay.” Tony pats Loki’s hand. “You don’t have to listen to the guy you met less than six hours ago, but I’m just gonna tell you that if you bailed on this lot later and went with me to see your brother, he’d give you a big ol’ bear hug and he’d never let you go. He’s kind of a dork like that.”

“I—”

“Not that you have to do that, or anything. You just deserve to know what the truth is.”

“I…” Loki sniffs. “Thank you.”

Tony winks. “What are guys you met less than six hours ago for, eh?”

Loki smiles.

“Speaking of which,” says Tony, “I noticed that you came out of the bathroom all half-dressed there. You weren’t planning on ditching me, were you?”

“Not at all. That was only because of the knocking at the door.”

“Ah. Good. Uh, good.” Tony thinks for a moment. “Hey, Loki?”

“Hm?”

“If I, I don't know, suggested something untoward, let's say, right now ... Would that be taking advantage?”

Loki leans closer, which has to be physics defying. He was already so close. “What does your conscience tell you?”

“Honestly?” Instinctively, Tony takes hold of Loki’s hand. And as Loki looks down to where their fingers are entwined, he says, “I only know that you’re a grownup, and you don’t have to go get a bone crushing hug from Thor tomorrow, and you don’t have to—”

He’s cut off by Loki’s lips meeting his and, hardly for the first time that night, he just goes with it.

*

Tony’s awoken again, from sleep he was losing hold of anyway, by his clothes dropping onto his face.

“Good morning,” says Loki brightly as Tony throws the pile of clothes to the side.

“Morning,” says Tony, slowly. “What time is it?”

“Half past eight.”

“Huh.” Tony wants to call bullshit on this situation. No fucking way is Loki a morning person.

Loki smiles. “Raze tells me that Laufey has some important news to share. He does tend to know what Laufey is thinking before Laufey does himself, hence his insistence that I betrayed Laufey before Laufey insisted so.”

“Right.” Tony remembers hearing no such insistence, but fuck it. He’s not omnipresent. He sits up and rubs his eyes. He’s definitely not the best at mornings. Loki’s still standing there, watching him, and Tony realizes, “You don’t want to go down there by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“But you need a temporary human shield, I get it. Don’t worry, Loki. I’ll leave you alone soon.” And, when Loki gives no answer, “I have to meet Thor and get that awkward out of the way. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t be bitter. You know I’m keeping your darkest secrets from Thor,” says Tony. “You could kill a guy and I wouldn’t tell him. I’m basically a priest.”

“That’s an interesting thing for you to claim in your current state,” says Loki. He takes a few steps backward and sits in a chair that Tony’s only noticing now.

“What? You saying no priest ever gets naked under any circumstances?” Then, after a moment, “Are you just gonna watch me dress?”

“I could face the other direction.”

“You’re a real sarcastic son of a bitch, you know that?”

“No.”

“Right.”

Tony gets out of bed and dresses. He doesn't make a hurry out of it, but he doesn't exactly take his time, either. It's fucking typical that in all these years of dressing in hotel rooms in front of someone he barely knows, he's never worked out how to reduce the awkward other than by just pretending that it isn't there. So far, he can’t say that it’s ever been all that effective.

“Okay, let me ask you this,” Tony says as he buttons his shirt.

Loki presses his fingertips together. He looks like a faux-grunge Bond villain. “Mm-hmm?”

“You are…” He doesn’t want to ask this. But he has to, right? “You are absolutely sure that you don't want me to tell Thor anything?”

Loki sighs.

“The reality is that you can tell anyone anything. I could do nothing to stop you. In all honesty, I doubt that Thor will hammer down my door regardless.”

“Yeah?”

“Thor never used to be deterred by Laufey, but that has changed,” Loki says. “Even Thor is not so stubborn that he is above Odin's ubiquitous influence.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what that means,” says Tony.

That’s a lie. A while back, Thor told Tony about the time that he hammered on Laufey's front door (this being back before Laufey lived on the road) because he heard that Odin was angry with Laufey for something - Tony has no fucking clue what, if he's honest - and wanted to seek the penance that Odin would not. Tony knows that Loki accompanied Thor for this. He hadn't wanted to let his brother go alone, he had reportedly said.

But that was before Loki’s adoption came out. These days, Thor is trying to prove that he doesn’t have to be Odin 2.0—and he’s getting his friends to wander into Laufey’s den for him. It's amazing that that's only just hit Tony. Maybe it's not just that Loki won't speak to him. Maybe it's that, even though they're not actually in _Game of Thrones_ , Laufey's more dangerous than you might expect. Or maybe he’s just, like, the biggest a-hole.

“Are you alright?” asks Loki.

“What?” Tony realizes that he's frozen in the act of putting on his jacket. “Yeah, I was just thinking.”

Loki nods. “Come here.”

He stands, crosses the room and stops in front of Tony. He pulls Tony's jacket the rest of the way onto his shoulders for him, and then plucks his tie off the bed and hangs it around Tony’s neck. As he's tying it for Tony, he says, “I do hope you know what you're doing.”

“Yeah,” says Tony with a sigh. “Me too.”

On the way down in the elevator, Tony finds himself giving Loki a brief retelling of the conversation in which Thor asked Tony to do this in the first place. He covers by focusing primarily on the reunion gathering and how nice (ew, that word) that was, but he knows that Loki's going to see right through that. Of course he is. It's nice to pretend, though. He texts Thor as he talks, informing him that he’ll talk to him later. He also, regretting it the second he does it, texts Clint.

Downstairs, the place is almost empty. There's no one around other than Raze, Hailstrum, and Grundroth, joy of joys. They have a couch each a little way away from the bar. Raze has a bottle of water, and he's the only one who does.

“Mornin’, gentlemen,” says Tony with forced cheer.

Loki doesn't say anything. Tony's not entirely sure of the expression on his face, but if he had to guess he'd put it between a sarcastic “my heart bleeds” and a genuine “I would happily murder you in your sleep.” And that's a broad spectrum, sure, but Loki's one of those types where it really is genuinely hard to tell. And that should probably unnerve Tony. It doesn't.

Raze says, “I almost feel that I should apologize for Laufey. He urges us down here and then wanders off. One does wonder about the point of the dramatics.”

“Mm,” is Loki’s only response before he grabs Tony by the arm and walks him to the door.

“I can stay for a while if you need to hide behind me,” Tony says. He’s only half joking. Or sixty-forty, maybe.

“Which you will only be doing to avoid Thor,” says Loki.

“Our buddy Clint, too. I said I’d meet him.” Tony winks. “He’s very discreet.”

“Good,” says Loki. “Tell him everything.”

And Tony’s guess is that Loki’s only half joking there. He did mean it when he said Clint’s discreet. He hopes Loki got that.

“Will do,” Tony says. “Plus I told him that I’d get him some new clothes so he doesn’t look like he’s cosplaying as Ellen DeGeneres.”

“Things like that, Tony, are what make it sound like you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know. That’s kinda the point. Always play the fox, and all that.” Tony smiles. “But, hey, it’s gonna be alright Loki. You have nothing to worry about.”

Loki frowns. “You’ve said that more than once, and somehow I find it a tad—”

He stops dead mid-sentence, looking like a predator that's heard its prey sneaking somewhere out of sight. Tony frowns. He hasn't picked up on whatever it is that Loki has, but he follows Loki's gaze and—ah, suddenly it makes sense.

There’s a man rounding the corner into the lobby. He's well-dressed, and, as Tony spots him, he's hanging up his phone and putting it into his pocket. Tony absolutely would fucking not say this out loud, but he's pretty sure that he can see a resemblance in this man to Loki. So, his best guess is that it's Laufey. Tony can only thank the heavens above for how fucking fun this day has been so far.

Laufey spots them and approaches with a smile.

“Ah, hello,” he says. Yep, that’s definitely the voice of the man on the other side of the door.

“Good morning,” says Loki amicably. His eyes are dark; they give him away. Tony wonders if Loki’s aware of that. He wonders if he cares.

Smiling at Tony, Laufey says, “I don’t believe we’ve met.” He holds out a hand. “Laufey.”

Tony accepts the hand. “Tony Stark.”

“Yes, I’m well aware. It’s been interesting having you around, Mr. Stark.”

“Ah, it could’ve been worse.”

“I don’t doubt,” Laufey said with a bitterness so thinly veiled that he might as well not have bothered. He turns to Loki. “I hope that Raze has forgiven me for walking out. I had to make a call regarding our next venue.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” says Loki through clenched teeth.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Laufey lets out a breath. “It’s actually what I need to talk to you about. We’ve had something of a last minute change of plans.” He allows Loki to nod in response before turning to Tony and saying, “I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Stark.”

Even Tony knows when he’s being dismissed, and in this case, he’ll obey. “Not at all. I’ve got to meet someone in a while anyway.”

“Good. Well. Have a good day, Mr. Stark.”

“And you.”

“We’ll see you in a moment, Loki.”

And with that, Laufey departs in the direction of the band.

Tony looks at Loki, who looks on the verge of yelling something after Laufey, and says, “That politeness tasted funny in my mouth.”

Loki laughs. “Actually, when was the last time that you brushed your teeth?”

“Do you know, I think I was in college,” says Tony. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yes.”

Okay. Tony definitely knows when he’s being dismissed.

“Okay, okay,” says Tony. He offers Loki a smile. “See you never, Loki.”

He doesn't say it dismissively. He does his best to say it with a warmth that matches his smile. He says it in acknowledgment, not dismissal. And he knows Loki will get that.

Loki returns the smile. “I know.”

Loki does.

*

Later that morning, Tony sits with Clint in the coffee shop where their group held that reunion. Tony’s grateful to get something other than alcohol in his system—anxiety over the coming conversation aside. Clint, after apparently much-needed assurance that Tony wasn't going to force him into a suit, is telling Tony a story about his kid. Tony was surprised at first that Clint wasn't suspicious. He'd forgotten until they'd been sitting there for ten minutes that he'd dressed up the text asking Clint there pretty well, and that Clint didn't know in the first place that Tony had agreed in the end to do as Thor requested.

It's when Clint goes into this analysis of bedroom wallpapers that Tony manages to make himself focus. To  _force_ himself to focus. Probably, he thinks, because his brain physically can't process that Natasha fucking Romanoff has any interest in a subject like that. Clint is sharing this anecdote with a Thor level of enthusiasm and Tony is sitting there, trying to square what brought him to ask Clint to meet him in the first place. He's got this feeling in his chest that doesn't add up.

It's something he's been pushing off until this moment. But no more, apparently. Not even really meaning to, Tony cuts Clint off mid-sentence.

“I slept with Thor’s brother.”

Clint sighs, his eyes falling shut. “Jesus Christ, Tony.”

“Yeah.”

Clint opens his eyes and clasps his hands firmly around his drink. “I thought you said that you weren’t going to go and see him.”

“And I wasn’t, but I changed my mind.” 

“Jesus Christ, Tony,” Clint says again. “You wanna tell me what happened? I mean, sans diagrams.”

He’s heard too many of Tony’s guess-what-went-wrong-last-night stories already, apparently.

“Okay, uh.” Tony coughs. “So I was at home, and I thought about what Thor said some more, so I called him and he convinced me to change my mind. I guess. When I got there Loki didn’t wanna talk, but I stuck around because … well, because I wanted to. And then I slept with him.”

“Right, and—”

“You know. Twice. Maybe.”

“Tony. Jesus.”

Tony shrugs.

Clint sighs. “So that’s why you wanted to talk to me?”

“You’re the one who was there when Thor asked me to speak to Loki, so ... I’m gonna talk to Thor later.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“Nothing Loki doesn’t want me to. None of his business.”

Clint nods. “Well, that’s something, at least. But how is it my business?”

“Uh, you’re my friend and you won’t tell anyone?”

“Yeah. Okay,” says Clint. “Fine.”

It takes Tony a moment, but he has to ask. “Are you mad at me right now?”

“A little bit, yeah.” Clint downs some of his drink. “You offered to help a friend and then slept with his little brother. That’s not exactly the friend thing to do.”

“Yeah.”

“Was Loki alright? You don’t have to give me details, just.”

“I mean, yeah. He’s fine. He’s doing fine,” Tony says. “What? You reckon I took advantage of the guy?”

“That’s the least I could check!” Clint’s voice is loud enough to turn a couple heads.

“Loki’s not a kid, Barton.”

“And that’s not relevant, Stark.”

“Okay, okay. I know. I see your point,” Tony says. “But he really is fine. If anything, I wanna tell Thor to be proud of him.”

Clint frowns. “Well that’s … interesting.”

“Doesn’t mean the guy didn’t a little bit scare the shit out of me but, you know.” Tony taps the table. “And I don’t feel guilty about sleeping with him, by the way, so don’t even—don’t.”

“Okay.” Clint looks thoughtful for a moment. “So if it’s not guilt, then why are you burdening me with this information?”

“Oh. Fuck.” Tony sighs and spends way too long drinking coffee and trying to ignore the feeling of Clint’s eyes burning holes in his flesh. “It’s not like I'm sitting here so deathly afraid for Loki that I need to send Thor on a rescue mission, but … I am kinda worried about him.”

Clint only nods.

“I just … I feel like I should be doing something, but I don’t know what that is. I made promises and all, you know?” says Tony.

Clint is quiet until, finally, “I can’t tell you what to do. Do what you think is best.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Barton,” says Tony. He lets out a breath that scratches his throat. “I really don’t know what to do.”

“Can’t say that I do either.” Clint makes this clicking noise. “So, why’d you do it?”

“What?”

Clint leans forward. “Why’d you fucking have sex with Thor’s little brother?”

Tony laughs. A laugh of no amusement. “I dunno. I liked him, I guess.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Tony smiles. “He was actually pretty cool. Or whatever.”

Clint chuckles. “You’re such a dumbass.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“You are, Tony. You’re a total dumbass,” Clint says. He holds up his coffee as if toasting. “I hope to god you work out what you’re gonna say to Thor.”

“Yeah,” says Tony. “You wanna get those guys at the next table in for a prayer circle?”

*

Tony manages to see Thor that evening. He doesn’t let himself agonize over what to tell him and just says that Loki’s just as well as can be expected. Not jumping for joy, but he’s managing. Thor should be proud. He can still worry - that’s the brotherly thing, after all - but Loki’s absolutely gonna keep going.

Thor thanks Tony. He sounds genuine. Deeply grateful. It makes Tony’s stomach churn. Not because he feels like he really fucked up, but … No, he still kinda feels like he wasn’t the best person to send.

But, “Yeah, I’m glad I went too,” is what Tony finds himself saying. “It was actually nice to meet him.”

Man is he grateful that Clint isn’t present to hear him say that. He can just see the death glare he’d get. Disappointed dad look tactic. Clint’s fucking terrifying, when he wants to be.

“I am glad to hear you say so,” Thor says.

“Yeah. I mean, I guess I can see why he’s not everybody’s favorite. I bet Barton would happily put a pen in his eye and Steve’s righteousness would burst into flames, but I liked him. We got on pretty well.”

 _Yeah, that’s one way to put it_ , says Clint’s voice somewhere in the back of Tony’s mind.

Thor smiles. “That is … good to hear.”

“Yeah,” says Tony. He laughs. “But seriously, is there, like, a single guy in your family who isn’t in dire need of a haircut?”

*

By a couple of days later, Tony's pretty much decided that the only thing he can do is let it go. He should have known before he went to Clint that that was the decision to be made. Besides, after Loki moves on to another city, Tony will have no way to contact him without internet stalking or having to ask Thor, which would be so many types of awkward and uncomfortable that it's not even worth thinking about. The event Loki's band are here for will be over by the end of the coming week, and Loki will be heading off to wherever he's going next. He meant what he said. He’s wished Loki the best, and now he’ll see him never.

That's why what happens on Wednesday is so much of a shock.

First of all, it’s a weird day because of what he’s doing. He’s forgotten that he’s meant to be doing it until Pepper reminds him, but there’s this business talk thing he agreed to do at a college. Six months ago Tony agreed to talk on a panel with four other prominent business figures, or however it’s phrased in the relevant emails that Tony’s able to dig out. It’s a daytime thing, on a fucking Wednesday. The number of people that show up is absurd.

So Tony’s on this table with three guys, one of whom is a last minute replacement Tony’s never heard of because, apparently, when Aldrich Killian was informed that Tony would be on the panel he decided not to show. Tony only wishes he’d been the bigger douche himself – usually, he manages that without any difficult – and come up with that excuse first. He could make it convincing that he was whiny bitch enough not to want to spend three hours at the same table as Aldrich Killian, right?

Well, he doesn’t. He has to spend three hours at that table and they have a chat about being green and eco-friendly and ethical and it’s all lovely and Tony gets snarky comments from so many audience members that he gets sucked into the pantomime of it all. Then, he nearly has a heart attack, because as he’s walking down the hallway towards the exit and parking lot he’s stopped dead in his tracks by nearly walking into Raze.

“Good afternoon,” Raze says. “You are a remarkable public speaker.”

“Uh. Thanks,” Tony says. “Mind if I ask what you’re doing here? Not that I’m not delighted by your company or anything. I just … you know. What the fuck are you doing here? You got an interest in boring business shit or—?”

“I’d happily tell you if you’d cease this babbling.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Raze sighs. “I understand that this is unexpected, but I need to speak with you.”

“Is it about my line of monogrammed underwear?”

“Stark. This is serious.” Raze looks up and down the hallway. “Might we talk elsewhere?”

Tony looks around. There aren’t masses of people here, but there are enough that he understands Raze wanting to go somewhere else. However, he doesn’t want to just walk through the winding corridors to the further people in the parking lot so he’ll find an alternative.

“Okay, come on,” he says.

They walk down the hallway and turn the next corner. Tony finds the first classroom and pushes the door open. (Are they all unlocked?) It’s a layout of tables in a few clusters around the room. Tony’s first action is to hop up and sit on one, while Raze shuts the door behind both of them and stays by it.

“Well I hope that door didn’t lock behind you, or I’ve read enough fanfiction to know where this is going,” says Tony. He points at Raze, keeping his expression serious. “And that, good sir, is a secret that you must take to your grave.”

Raze frowns at him. “Do you always have such a frustrating lack feel for the mood of the moment?”

“Usually? Pretty much. It’s one of the many ways in which God has unfairly gifted me.”

Raze doesn’t react to that, so Tony asks, “So what is it that you so cryptically wanted to talk to me about?”

Raze takes a few steps forward. He stops for a moment, then continues. He walks infuriatingly slowly to the desk meant for the teacher then leans against it. “Laufey sent me.”

“He what now?”

“Rather, he did so indirectly. He has concerns, and I thought you might address them best.”

“See now, you’re doing that cryptic thing again. I’m not sure that I appreciate that so much.”

Raze bites his lip. It’s unsettling. Tony hasn’t changed his mind about this guy being slimy. Tony’s about to go lose himself in a train of thought when Raze snaps him out of it with the headline.

“Loki’s gone.”

Tony blinks. “What?”

“Loki, Stark. Loki is gone.”

“Gone where?”

“If I knew that, do you think I’d choose to bump into you here?”

“Got me there.” Tony takes a moment. “So … what happened?”

“I told you that Loki has a habit of failing to show up when we’ve planned to meet, and vanishing on occasion without telling anyone where he is going.”

“Yeah. So has Thor.”

Raze nods. “We don’t believe this is that. Not a … not simply him being tired of our presence.”

Tony suddenly feels sick. What the fuck is he supposed to say?

Raze takes a deep breath, slowly. “We had the conversation that we were supposed to after you left on Saturday, and everything was as it should be. Loki told us that he wanted to take care of a few errands, and we cared nothing for how true that was. As long as he returned for the show that evening, we were fine to let him go.”

“And he didn’t come back?” Tony assumed.

“Right.” Raze taps his hands against the side of the desk. “We checked his room, and he wasn’t there. But, we decided to leave it.”

“You did?”

Raze looks suddenly angry at that, but he keeps his tone even. “You must understand that this is nothing new. Loki did this to Odin for year upon year. Why not do it to Laufey now?”

“Uh huh.” Tony looks around the room so he doesn’t have to look at Raze for a moment, then asks, “So, what do you think sent him running off? If you think it’s okay for me to know that.”

“My guess would be that he is unhappy with our next planned destination. It was a last minute change of plans.”

Tony remembers that being mentioned.

“Well, where is it?”

Raze looks like he’s about to bitch slap Tony for impertinence. “Laufey’s only specific was New Mexico—”

“Which is where Odin lives right now, right?”

“New Mexico is a big place, Stark.”

“That Laufey decided to go to at the last minute, changing previous plans, just after fighting with Loki over not being able to trust him. Whatever you say, Raze.”

Tony’s taken aback by the rush of protectiveness in his chest. He really does barely know Loki. But then, he also knows a dick move when he sees one.

“At any rate,” Raze says, clearly unimpressed, “I was speaking to Laufey, and he told me that he and Loki had something of a disagreement the night that he spent with you.”

“Yeah … I remember that,” Tony mutters.

“Loki has been taking liberties with Laufey since Laufey offered him a place with us, and Laufey is understandably tired of it.”

“Liberties with his own misery?” Tony says.

He’s not been around these people but there’s clearly not one grain of sympathy for anything shitty that might have happened to Loki before. Not from Raze, anyhow. If he’s surprised that Tony’s pissed then his understanding of human nature is seriously lacking.

“By Monday, Laufey was angry,” Raze continues, as if Tony had said nothing. “I know little of Loki’s history before I knew him, but in my experience, there has always been some indication of his whereabouts.”

That sparks something in Tony’s memory, something of what Thor told him once. Thor’s family have this friend, Heimdall. He and Loki do not get on, as Tony understands it. Do _not_ get on. But he always knew where Loki was and, if it became necessary, he would tell Odin. Then, in later years, he would tell Thor. But that arrangement doesn’t exist now.

“We tried to call him,” Raze says. “We found his phone ringing in his hotel room’s bathroom. He has never once left his phone, Stark. His fleeing situations is always planned and calculated. To leave without a phone does him no favors, and I see no rational reason for him to do it. So, he left in no rational state.”

“Yeah…” Tony clicks his tongue. “Shit.”

“We spent yesterday doing our best to locate him. We neglected to attend the event.” And he seems really mad about that bit, too. “We had no luck.”

“So you came to me?”

“Yes.”

Tony almost topples backward. He barely registers it, though, as he’s spitting, “Why the fuck do people keep doing that? Why the hell do they think that I can help them?”

Raze glares.

“No. I’m serious.” Tony hops down from the table, so he’s standing. Sure, he’s shorter than Raze, and a little distance from him, but he feels better. “Why don’t you go to Loki’s family?”

“Laufey is Loki’s father, Stark.”

“And Odin raised him and was an asshole. Blah blah. Nobody gives a shit about the politics right now.” Tony takes a few steps forward. He’s not sure where this … where this rage came from, but – and not exactly for the first time recently – he’s going with it. “I’m pretty damn sure that Laufey’s more than capable of calling Odin and asking if he has any idea _where_ _their fucking son is_. I’m pretty sure everybody’s guessed by now that acting like a grown up isn’t what I’m famous for, but Jesus Christ if this is what I’m up against them maybe people should stop looking down on me quite so fucking much.”

Raze takes a few steps forward, too. He’s close to Tony now, and now Tony does feel the difference in height. Raze is a picture of calm, or seems to be. The words he speaks betray him.

“But, we both know Thor to be rash enough to walk into Laufey’s home to attack him for an old slight, and I believe Laufey when he says that Odin has none of the wisdom he claims to. I will trust neither one of them with Loki. I come to you only because you are the closest thing I have to a trustworthy friend of Loki, and even you are a rather pathetic reach. But.” He smiles. “If you give me a reason to be concerned rather than angry, then I will go to Odin.”

Tony laughs, falling backward a few steps. “Thor came to me because I’m his friend, and despite all my shit he trusted me – which, fuck, it’s irrelevant right now whether he should have done so or not. But see I’m getting that you’re coming to me because you lot are too petty to go to Loki’s family, or you care more about Laufey’s pride than you do about Loki—or both, but fuck.” He has to take a breath to steady himself. “Come on, Raze. There’s no way that coming to some random guy Loki fucked makes more sense than going to his family.”

Raze says calmly, “Loki won’t run away if he sees you. And Stark, I can honestly say that about no one else.”

Tony’s breath catches, and he falls back another step. “He knew me for one night.”

“Exactly. It is easy to fall out of Loki’s favor. You’ve yet to have the opportunity.”

Tony snaps his finger. “See, for just a second there you had my sympathy. And then you had to go and fuck it up.”

“I’d almost apologize,” says Raze flatly. “Will you help?”

Tony flails. “Jesus. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Raze shrugs. “Something. Anything. A small gesture. This isn’t fair to Laufey.”

Tony almost belts the guy in the face. “Okay, you know what? Fuck you. I’ll … Fuck. I’ll do what I can. If there’s anything that I can do. If. But I’m not going to stand in here a moment longer with you.”

“Whatever suits you.”

Tony nods. He makes his way to the door. He opens it up and turns back to Raze to say, “See you never, Raze,” before making his exit. It feels like a cliché repeat of what he said to Loki but to hell with it. It makes him feel better.

*

An hour later, Tony’s sitting in the coffee shop where this whole thing started. He doesn’t have the faintest fucking idea why. It’s just where his body took him. He knows that he’s got to make a decision. Is this the big scary thing that should have him breaching Loki’s privacy.

Okay. He’s got this. There is a right amount of information to share. Tony’s not about to be the dick that Raze is being, so he calls up Thor.

He explains, as eloquently and please-don’t-lose-your-shit as he can, about Raze coming to him. He still feels somehow committed to that promise of privacy that he made, however, and so he doesn’t share the New Mexico thing. At any rate, Tony only has the vaguest of suspicions about that. It’s probably only Loki who knows what’s really going on.

What surprises Tony is that Thor doesn’t say much. He’s not so quiet that it’s worrying. It’s more that he’s calm and measured in every response that he gives. It’s just one or two words every now and again, more than anything inviting Tony to continue. And then, when Tony’s finished, he says just three words that nearly have Tony falling off his chair.

“Raze is right.”

“Uh…” Tony pops his lips. “Run that by me again?”

“When he says that you are the only one he knows who might approach Loki without Loki reacting too negatively. In truth, Tony, I can’t say how he would react. But he’d not take kindly to being found by me.”

“Right. Yeah.” Tony thinks this through for a moment. He feels like he wants to help, but he just… “Are you okay with me, you know, trying to help?”

“Tony, of course I am.” A moment’s silence. “Do you wish to?”

“Yes, Thor, of course I do, but…” He sighs. “How the fuck am I supposed to know where Loki is?”

Thor is silent for a good few minutes then. Tony doesn’t press him.

Finally, Thor says, “Did I ever tell you about the hotel we often stayed in as children? It was a favorite, Loki would often—”

“Holy shit,” Tony says it just a little too loudly. He feels like he might be attracting attention, but he doesn’t care enough to look. “Loki told me about that.”

“He did?” says Thor.

“I mean. Briefly.” Tony taps the table a few times, urging his train of thought to hurry to its destination. “We were talking about the, uh, not so niceness of the hotel bar we were in and Loki told me about this hotel. Says he hides there sometimes from the others, and they don’t know where it is because he doesn’t want them finding him when he’s there.”

“Yes. That would be the place.”

“Do you think he’s there?”

“I can’t … I can’t think of another place he may be,” Thor says.

“And if he isn’t?”

“Then we address that then,” says Thor. This measured and responsible thing he’s doing … it’s intense. “But I think that this is our best chance for now.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tony stands up. “Is it a dick move to just show up when he clearly wants to be left alone?”

“It would not be the first time that you’ve done it.”

“Start as you wish to go on, right?” Tony grins. He leaves the money for his coffee (plus like a 1076.5% tip, but honestly who’s counting and who cares?) on the table. “I take it that you know where this hotel is?”

“Of course,” says Thor. “One moment.”

Tony commits the address that Thor gives him to memory as he exits the coffee shop.

*

Tony thinks, when it sees the hotel, that it probably used to be a lot nicer. It’s a large building with a definite grandeur to its design, but it looks like it used to shine and it doesn’t anymore. He gets his car as close as he can (he realized last Friday that he’s not exactly designed for subterfuge) and travels up the front steps to enter the hotel. It’s up quite a number of steps so that its first floor – or the floor its lobby is on, at least – is on the same level as the second floor of all the buildings nearby. It’s a little disorienting.

He looks around through the small crowd in the lobby. How should he go about finding Loki? He’s pretty sure that he might get a polite fuck off if he tried asking at the desk. Maybe not, but he might have to go for a more subtle approach—which, again, he’s really not designed for.

Before Tony goes making creepy inquiries at the front desk (and is it beyond Loki to use a fake name? Should he have asked Thor that? Is he starting to seriously, seriously over think this?) he’ll take a look around some of the more public areas for Loki, he thinks. He’s definitely not in the lobby, though the place does have a weird arrangement of half levels to it. Tony spies a small downstairs bar area—empty. There are a few open seating areas downstairs as well, but nope. And this is all fair enough, really, because if Loki is trying to keep from being found then hanging around in the open on the first floor isn’t the strategy for it.

Tony’s about to give up and see if the front desk is worth a shot when he notices a door, right at the end of a corridor. It’s glass. He walks to it and looks outside. It’s a balcony type area. There are a few seats, and a stone wall lining it. It’s an almost nice place to stand and look out over this area of the city. And, just visible in the corner, is the man Tony came here to look for. Thank fuck.

It’s like that apprehension about approaching Loki in Tesseract. He remembers Loki’s demeanor back then, how it seemed to be so composed but for a small display of paranoia. Now, Loki leans against the stone wall, watching the city, dressed in a long green coat and with his hair slicked back rather than hanging loosely around his shoulders. And he’s stone cold still. He could almost be a feature of the wall. He looks empty.

He won't hesitate any longer, not now. Tony opens the door and approaches Loki.

“Hey there,” says Tony when he’s about five paces away. “Nice hair.”

“I knew that Raze would go to you,” Loki says. He doesn’t look at Tony. In fact, his mouth is the only thing that moves. Tony catches now that he’s wearing a dark suit under his jacket.

“Perceptive,” Tony says. He takes a few steps forwards and leans on the wall next to Loki. “That’s your gimmick, isn’t it?”

“And yours would be what?” Loki turns his head to him, his body remaining still.

“Stubborn,” says Tony with a sigh. “But not quite stubborn enough.”

“Ah.” Loki looks away again.

“So, you knew that Raze would ask for my help, huh?”

“I did,” says Loki. “But I’m unsure how much you told Thor.”

“I told him that Laufey and the band can’t find you,” Tony says. “But not that Laufey wants to reroute you to somewhere in New Mexico.”

“I meant about all of it.”

“I know.” Tony takes a sideways closer to Loki. “Sometimes I can be kind of perceptive too.”

Loki turns to him again. And for one long moment, he just watches Tony with those eyes that clearly see right through you. What are they seeing through to? … Actually, no. Tony’s not up for being introspective right now.

A second later he thinks that the step closer was a mistake because, just gently, he feels Loki’s lips on his. Tony’s frozen for a moment. But he catches hold of himself and lightly pushes on Loki’s chest. “Hey. Come on.”

“You’re right,” says Loki. And with those words, Loki returns to the position he was in when Tony found him.

Tony leans sideways against the wall. “I’m sorry, Loki, but you’re clearly upset right now okay?”

Loki flicks a loose piece of stone onto the street below. “I was upset on the night that we met.”

“You’re right. You are,” Tony says. “And maybe I should apologize for that too.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Okay then. I won’t.”

For a while they stand, a chorus of traffic humming around them. Tony watches Loki paint invisible patterns on the wall with his index finger. He remembers, of course, that two people told him to come here because anyone else would fail to get Loki’s co-operation. ( _Shit, Stark, you make it sound like you’re interrogating a criminal._ ) He wants to let Loki lead this conversation, so they can have it peacefully.

“You said that you didn’t tell Thor about New Mexico,” Loki says.

“And I didn’t,” says Tony. “I promise.”

Loki looks at him, and Tony could swear from his eyes that he’s on the edge of a smile. “And what did Raze tell you?”

“Nothing, really. I just made my assumptions. Actually, I kinda think you maybe know more about it than he does.”

“And I do,” says Loki. Suddenly his voice is clearly resentful and he’s making no attempt to hide it. “Laufey told me of it before he did the others, and he told me more. Before you woke up, in fact.”

“You sure hid that from me well.”

“Thank you,” says Loki with a twisted smile.

“Oh, don’t get like that with me,” says Tony, but he says it calmly.

Loki makes this small grunting noise and looks away yet again. What’s happening here, really? This hasn’t been a long conversation, but it’s already showing a side of Loki that Tony’s never met before, and he doesn’t really know how to handle him.

But actually, no. He told Loki that he can be perceptive sometimes. He should stop just going with shit and try something. This side of Loki that he’s yet to encounter … he doesn’t think that it’s quite as skittish as the one he met before. So…

“Okay, so Raze and Thor both told me that you wouldn’t jump over the wall and run away through traffic if I found you. And here you are, all mad at me, but definitely on this side of the wall.”

Loki raises an eyebrow. “Your point being?”

Tony rearranges himself where he’s leaning on the wall so that his suit is a little straighter, and tugs lightly on the end of his sleeve. “Do you feel like telling me what it is that you know and the others don’t?”

Loki frowns at him, but almost immediately says, “Very well.”

“Do I have to keep it secret from Thor?”

“We’ll see.” Loki clears his throat and straightens his own green coat. “Laufey wishes to have a certain conversation with Odin and another with several of the people who work with him. Family friends.” Those words spoken, he turns away again. And Tony has no fucking clue why, but he’s imagining snow lining the top of the wall and getting caught up in the green threads of Loki’s coat.

“And that …” Tony knows he’s about to say something really stupid but to prompt Loki he has to say it anyway. “That really bothers you doesn’t it?”

Loki frowns. He’s tracing those shapes in the wall again. “In the end, Tony, it all … it all goes back to the funeral. I missed it. That worried Thor. That is what started this situation with you and me in the first place, is it not?”

“Is there a situation with you and me?”

Loki swallows. “Perhaps. But I know that at the very least that my missing the funeral is what made Thor’s worry so … so intolerable for him. It’s what made it so unbearable that he had to ask for your aid.”

“Yeah.”

Tony’s about to say something else, but he’s cut off. It’s the smallest change in body language at first, but he catches it. Loki’s knuckles go white. Then, more noticeable, his jaw clenches. He swallows again. Blinks. He stays like that, moment after moment, until it’s stretching into minutes. His expression has gone truly dark. When he speaks, Tony’s amazed that he gets the words out. They’re spoken so quietly, too, but Tony hears them perfectly. Because he knows how difficult they must be to say.

“I wasn’t wanted at the funeral.”

Loki looks at Tony, but Tony doesn’t want to say anything. He doesn’t think that there are words to say. If Loki wants to share more, he will.

Loki takes a deep breath. “Thor was the one to tell me that our mother had passed, but ...” Another deep breath. “Shortly after I was told, I was called and told not to go to the funeral. I had done too much to hurt our family, too much to hurt my mother. My presence would do more harm than good.” There’s something in his eyes. They’re moving like he’s trying to find something on the street below. “I wasn’t wanted at the funeral, Tony. I never got to say goodbye to her.”

Tony’s almost tempted to take Loki’s hand. Suddenly, he’s remembering the last conversation that he had with his parents, the one that he’s played over a thousand times over and every time he was so much less of a shitty son. He doesn’t know what Loki’s last words to his mother were, but he knows that describing Loki’s relationship with his family as “rocky” is putting it lightly. If Loki’s in the same situation as Tony, picturing scenarios that could never happen, then Tony wouldn’t be surprised. And it’s a situation that he understands.

And to think that Loki was actually called up and banned from going to the funeral? Tony can’t even imagine.

“I was angry enough to tell myself that Thor knew,” Loki says, “but I should have known that, if he did, then he would disagree with them even if he co-operated.”

“Should you?”

Loki blinks. “I’m sorry?”

Tony fumbles for a moment, trying to find the words. He speaks before he’s finished his thought.

“Loki, back when I met Thor he had a head on him, yeah, but I could see … I could see that headstrong dumbass thing. That stubborn punch first and think later guy is the brother that you grew up with, right?”

“I suppose so,” says Loki with this listless shrug.

“Well that’s not your brother,” says Tony. “Not anymore. You don’t really know your brother anymore.”

Loki frowns at him. “I don’t—”

“He doesn’t know you either,” says Tony quickly. “How could he, right? You’ve been apart for years, you’ve both been through a lot. You’re both going to be really different people, yeah? That’s how people work.”

Loki nods. He doesn’t say anything.

“And hey,” Tony says, holding out his hand so that Loki can take it if he wants to, “I’m really sorry. That really sucks, what they did to you. I can’t imagine living with that.”

Loki is still for a long while. But then, he takes the hand that was offered to him, and asks, “Do you truly believe that Thor and I don’t know each other?”

“Maybe I said that wrong,” says Tony. “Maybe it’s just that you don’t know each other as well as you used to. But you know how much he cares about you, right? He did send me to ask after you, and I’m sure if he did know about the funeral thing he’d be really mad about it.” He moves his head so he can better look Loki in the eye. “And if he knew about the New Mexico thing, too.”

“If …” Loki swallows. “If Laufey intends to cause any trouble, then I don’t know what to do. I can’t take either side, not anymore.”

“Yeah.” Tony smiles, hoping that Loki sees it as supportive. “I don’t think that Thor can either.”

“That,” Loki says, “that I think is true.”

“Your brother wants you in his life, Loki.”

“I know.”

“Would you like … would you like me to take you to him?”

And in an instant, Loki’s made eye contact again.

“Would you?” Tony repeats.

Loki nods. “I … Please.”

Tony smiles again. Maybe, once he’s taken Loki to his brother, he won’t be able to help anymore. But he knows that this much he can do. He squeezes Loki’s hand and pulls lightly to encourage him to follow.

“Come on,” he says. “My car’s out front.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave a comment down below. I love hearing from you guys! If you haven't already, you can also check out my long-term frostiron fic, [Conflicts of Interest](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6238222/chapters/14293525) as I continue to update that whenever I'm able. Thanks again! 
> 
>  
> 
> [librariankiss.tumblr.com](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com//)


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